Dr. Anthony Zacharias
by Ptah Aegyptus
Summary: There's something strange about the math and physics professor at Meridiana High School. So what's a PhD with his credentials doing teaching in a place like this? Cybersix gets curious, and things start to get interesting indeed...
1. Adrian Seidelman Meets Dr. Zacharias

  


The following happens during Episode 1 in the cut between the scene where Cybersix, as Adiran, is shown her classroom and her classroom scene where Lori "introduces" herself.   


* * *

##  Adrian Seidelman meets Dr. Zacharias

Cybersix stared at the scribbling on the notepad of her desk, and inhaled deeply, trying to calm the storm within herself. The buzzing of the ballast in the fluorescent light above her head didn't help at all.

"I can do this." she told herself in her 'male' voice, "I CAN do this."

She was in her alias as Adrian Seidelman, her womanhood suppressed under the male guise of the unfortunate boy whose dead body she had found at the automobile accident so many years ago. She had fled the little village where she had lived for several years with her father, the black servant who had spirited her away from Von Richter before he destroyed her brothers and sisters. Unsure of how to hide, she had buried the boy, taken his identity, and lived his life. It went great for a while: school was a novelty which she easily mastered, and she had been fortunate enough to have had two kind and compassionate teachers who saw her talents and had her help some of her classmates. Only a few were thankful, but thanks to those few, added to the inspiration she got from the two teachers who cared, strongly motivated her to pursue a teaching career. It was a wonderful feeling to touch lives. It made her feel that she was worth something.

Naturally, the onset of puberty started to make things 'interesting', and not only because of the obvious difficulties in maintaining her alias. She sometimes caught herself envying the attention that the coeds at college got from the male students, jealous for the kind of approval that would affirm her as a woman and a human being. (At least, based on what she could tell after extensive visits to the local erotic bookstores, video booths, and nude dancing establishments, it did appear that Von Richter hadn't screwed up the physical equipment too much. So why did she feel so, _soiled_, after coming out of those places?)

She pulled her mind back to the current problem. Earlier teaching assignments were temporary, and under the guidance of more experienced educators. She was now "on his own", and it was making her stomach fluttery. She glanced up at the rows of seats that she had arranged and rearranged in an effort to burn time before having to commit thought to paper. She had talked herself into thinking that her assignment to this third-rate high school would be a challenge worthy of her. Could she possibly inspire these kids to see the beauty she saw in the treasure that was the world's literature? Could she get them to laugh at Shakespeare's Falstaff, cry with Romeo and Juliet, and sense the world of faerie while running through the woods during a midsummer's night? She couldn't tell if the ache in her heart was for her future students, or the effects of starting to run low on sustenance again.

She jerked her head at the gentle tapping at the door, "Come in!" she called, pitching her voice lower.

The door opened and a man in his late 40's, with gray hair and a bushy white mustache, walked in. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement as he slipped into a student desk at the front. He was of average build, but not overweight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fit into the chair.

He leaned forward and held out his hand, "Hi! I'm Dr. Anthony Zacharias, Math and Physics, but everyone calls me Dr. Zack. Are you the new Literature teacher?"

"Uh, Yes! Adrian Seidelman!" Cybersix leaned forward and shook his hand. New people made her a little nervous. Would they notice something that wasn't quite right? Her hair was up, and they could see EVERYTHING.

Then she blinked. The weather was hot, yet Dr. Zack was wearing two, long sleeved shirts. No, the inner one had the weave of thermal underwear. She was so puzzled by this that she didn't notice that the visitor had turned her wrist ever so slightly so as to see the fingers and the back of her hand.

Dr. Zack leaned back and looked at her, "Getting the willies, aren't we?"

"Willies?"

"Butterflies in the stomach? Nervous?"

"Nervous? You betcha!" She chuckled, finding it hard to fake male laughter and having little occasion to use it, "I DO remember when I was in high school!"

"Ah! So the prayers of high school teachers past crying out for vengeance are now being fulfilled, right?"

"I suppose so!" she grimaced as Dr. Zack chuckled himself. Maybe she had better start practicing, just to be safe....

"Well, although this may not be the most prestigious school in Meridiana, we have a good faculty that wants to succeed." Dr. Zack said reassuringly, "Feel free to call on any of us for advice or help, such as for that ballast." He pointed at the fluorescent light above her head.

"Yes, I WOULD like that fixed!" She said sincerely while glancing up at it.

Dr. Zack didn't leave immediately, but instead looked at her in a way that began to make her nervous, "By the way, what do you feel about gender equality in the workplace?" he asked suddenly.

"Pardon?" the question seemed totally out of place, yet hit so close that it seemed that the butterflies slammed against her insides like a popping balloon, "Um, well, I'm for equal pay for equal work." She said sincerely, returning Dr. Zack's gaze, "Is there a problem with that around here?"

"I suspect it, but that just may be me. If you notice anything, don't hesitate to speak to me!" Dr. Zack replied, getting up, "I'll fill out the maintenance request after my next class. Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Cybersix watched him go, frowning at the door after it closed behind him, "Well, my good doctor, what's a Ph.D. doing in a dump like this, wearing thermal underwear in 90 degree weather?" she muttered to herself.

The bell rang. She groaned, glanced at her notepad, then said firmly to herself, "I believe in the power of imagination to rebuild the world, to free the truth, to delay the night…"*

----------------

Dr. Zack was rather irritated with himself as he walked down the hall to his classroom. He had tried to be friendly with the new teacher, but had taken an immediate dislike to the high pitched voice and the pretentiously manicured nails and slender fingers Adrian had. He didn't care for men who couldn't fend for themselves in a good fight. The glasses were obviously plate glass with no prescription, since there was no distortion at the edges. He thought Adrian probably wore them to convey an air of studiousness. How Dr. Zack hated pretentious, high-society, nose-in-the-air people! He was sure he had Adrian pegged until, when Adrian glanced up at the buzzing ballast, he noticed the lack of an Adam's apple in the long, slender neck.

"Then I had to do a damn scan, just to make sure." He thought ruefully to himself. He had violated a woman's privacy to satisfy his curiosity. "She probably has a good reason why she's dressing and acting like a man."

He got to his classroom door, reached into his pocket, and swore silently. He'd forgotten his keys on his desk again! He tried the doorknob, and verified that he hadn't forgotten to unlock it.

He glanced up and down the hall quickly, then stared at the door.

There seemed to be a ripple in the air in front of the panel next to the wood, as if it was water and the surface had been disturbed. Then, a black hole appeared and began to grow. A doorknob with a locking mechanism appeared on the other side of it. Dr. Zack gingerly reached through the hole, being careful not to touch the edge. He twisted the lock, and a noise came from the doorknob on the outside of the door. He pulled his hand out carefully, and the hole shrank slowly until it disappeared with another ripple in the air. He then opened the door and went inside.

He quickly went to his desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin and a candy bar. He took two aspirin and chewed on the candy bar as he mulled over the problem of how to make things right with Ms. Seidelman.

"No, MR. Seidelman. I shall keep your secret and not embarrass you. I will keep quiet and act civil." he concluded as he reached for his notebook. Time to get ready for class. Hopefully, he wouldn't get a headache. He sometimes did when he tore space open.   


* * *

  


* - This is an excerpt of the poem that Cybersix recites in her head, in issue #5 of the French version of the Cybersix comic by Carlos Meglia and Carlos Trillo. "I Believe in", by J. G. Ballard. See the comics section of [Frundock's awesome Cybersix Web site][1].

I would like to thank the following people for reading alternate versions of this story and giving me feedback on what I believe to be a rather nontraditional (and puzzling) handling of Cybersix when she's posing as Adrian: Frundock, Genesis Seidelman, Eoduin, Chastity Six, Anay, and Cyberpoet. Thanks for the help!   


   [1]: http://www.microtec.net/mfredick/c6/



	2. A Mysterious Stranger of a Different Sor...

This happens shortly after Episode 1.

Note: Henry Tilman is the name I chose for the gentleman who escorted Adrian Seidelman to his classroom in Episode 1.

---------------------------------

A Mysterious Stranger of a Different Sort   


Cybersix carefully adjusted her "Adrian Seidelman" glasses as she sipped at her coffee, being equally careful to conceal the quick glance she threw across the table at Lucas, who was reading the sports section of the newspaper.

_"This is a very strange relationship..." s_he thought idly. She had been grateful for Lucas' timely arrival when Lori's gang had accosted him a few days earlier. She wasn't sure at that moment whether to fight, run, or allow herself to be beaten. The first two options would have raised suspicions if they had proved too effective, and the third ran the risk of somebody grabbing at her shirt or tearing it open. His intervention was very welcome indeed. 

She had no idea what Lucas saw in Adrian, but she appreciated the efforts Lucas made to forge a friendship with her as a man. She certainly was going to see a part of the male world other women would never see. _"As long as he doesn't get into trouble again because of me."_ she worried, glancing down at the paper's front page headline that shouted, "COUNTERFEIT MONEY FOUND". Intimidating teenagers was one thing, but tackling fixed ideas with his bare hands was quite another. Yet, he put his plea to let him help her into action by his valiant, albeit fruitless, defense of her. That touched her deeply. The only other person who had done that for her had been the black servant who she had called father, who lost his life to the goons that Von Richter had sent so that she would live. She figeted with her glasses again, this time to hide the inevitable welling in her eyes when she thought of him, _"Forgive me, father, but I can't mourn. Not here. Not now. Later. You'll understand." _ she thought. 

She began to think of something interesting to get a conversation going, so she went over the day's events for subject material. It didn't take long for her to settle on something. She had met Dr. Zacharias in the faculty lounge earlier that day to thank him for getting the light ballast fixed. At the same time she took the opportunity to ask for advice about coping with Lori. Instead of giving a sober and reasoned answer that would have been more helpful than the advice Lucas had given, the good doctor had started laughing fit to bust a gut. He was no help, he admitted, because his age prevented him from having the "very VERY unique" problem Adrian was suffering from. After which the professor succumbed to another undignified fit of giggles. She had left the lounge even less enlightened than when she had entered, her curiosity throughly stoked. Now was as good a time as any to satisfy its buzzing, "So Lucas, what do you know about Dr. Zacharias?" she asked casually in Adrian's voice.

"Dr. Zack?" Lucas looked up from the newspaper, "Strange character for sure, but just about the best thing that's happened to the faculty."

_"For sure."_ she thought. "Oh?" she asked aloud, "How's that?"

"Oh, he's a good guy to the kids and us, but the administration is another thing. Did you notice how stuffy principal Tilman is?"

"I couldn't help but notice!"

"Dr. Zack hates stuffy. His PhD intimidates Tilman, and he doesn't hesitate to leverage THAT for a good cause. Like releasing the raises the city had approved and allocated to us two years ago."

"Tilman held back raises?" Cybersix blinked, trying to imagine living on even less than what she was making now. And her expenses were rather unsual, running from fixing broken high heels on black boots to buying leather patch kits and bandages. Lots of bandages.

"The extra cash made the overall budget look good." Lucas shrugged, then grinned and said in a low voice, "I think Dr. Zack had threatened to add the numbers up in front of the school board." he winked.

She had to smile at that, "So what's a Ph.D doing in a high school?"

"Funny thing that." Lucas put the paper down and leaned forward, beckoning with his index finger. Cybersix leaned in, being careful not to push the material of her shirt in too much on the table edge, "You know I also work as a reporter at The Independent?"

"Yes. You told me that when we first met." She looked at him quizzically, then tipped her head toward the paper he had put down, "So why are you reading The Meridiana Times instead?"

"The Independent is a morning paper. The Times is the evening paper. I have to keep up with the competition."

"And the soccer scores?" She hazarded, smiling.

"Welllll, yeah!" He looked embarassed, scratching the back of his head. He then continued, "Where were we?"

"Dr. Zack."

"Oh! Yeah! Umm, I used my contacts and Internet connection at the paper to look him up. He's been all over the place. University, industry, even worked at ERL."

"Earl?"

"The Energy Research Lab. He started off at a certain prestigious university and got tenured. After several years of exceptional work, he suddenly got dismissed for some paper he wrote and circulated internally for review. Just for review! It never got published. The faculty council didn't utter a word in his defense or object to the dismissal. You've been to college, so you should know how strange THAT is!"

She did, pursing her lips and letting out a silent whistle in astonished agreement, "What could he have written?" she wondered aloud.

"Not a clue. His publishing record is impressive. It's all in the faculty information book. It's the fattest entry, of course."

"I know his PhD is in physics. What did he specialize in?"

"Theoretical quantum mechanics. Did you know that there are only six or seven people on the planet who really understand that stuff?"

"Let me guess. He's one of those seven?"

"You got that right. I found a web page put out by some physics graduate students characterizing each of the big people in physics. Our dear Dr. Zack's effect on the field was compared to a kid running around setting off M80s in ant hills. Repeatedly. That's a quote from one of the other six quantum wizards."

"But why come here? Why not go to another university?" Cybersix was puzzled.

"No clue there either." Lucas shook his head, "Instead, he went into industry working on nanotechnology."

"What's nanotechnology?"

"Its about how to build machines as small as viruses. Maybe smaller. He worked mostly on how to build nanofactories, which are machines designed to manufacture nanodevices."

"That sounds outside of his field." _"And too close to Von Richter's,"_ she thought nervously. Machines smaller than viruses crawling in the spaces between her cells almost made her own skin crawl.

"Which is probably why he finally ended up at ERL, working on advanced energy technologies based on Quantum Mechanics."

"That's government work isn't it?"

Lucas nodded.

"That's a plum job, then. How'd he lose that one?"

"He apparently pursued a rather expensive path of research that wound up being a dead end. They were cutting back the budget at ERL, so he volunteered to leave. He said teaching here might pay back his debt to society."

"But that almost always happens in areas of pure research, doesn't it?" she frowned, adjusting her glasses again, "It almost sounds as if he thinks he'd committed a crime rather than being mistaken."

"Funny thing is, that's the only thing he's willing to talk about. He's pretty tight lipped about his stints in the university and industry. Probably had to sign a nondisclosure agreement or something to keep him quiet. He's still writing papers on theoretical quantum mechanics, by the way. I guess you don't need a linear accelerator to do that." He shrugged, "His mailbox is always stuffed with invitations to all kinds of meetings in America and Europe. Even Russia. Those are tough guys to impress. I suppose its because he speaks Russian."

"Russian!"

"And German too, by the way."

"And what about the thermal underwear?"

"You noticed that too?" Lucas shrugged expressively, "I've no idea about that either. The air conditioning broke down a week before school started, during that really bad hot spell we had, and took two days to get repaired. Everyone was sweating like pigs, but he's walking around cool as a cucumber and happy as a clam."

"Curioser and curioser!"

"You got that right, Alice. Heeey! Don't look so shocked! That's just a joke! You know me. Live and let live. He gets me a raise, I'll leave him in peace with his mysterious past and wierd underapparel."

"Thanks for the information, Lucas." Cybersix said sincerely.

"No problem good buddy."

He returned to the sports page, muttering something about the hopeless Toreadors. Cybersix leaned back and sipped at her coffee. It had gone cold, so she waved to the waiter to get it refilled. "Yes, curioser and curioser." She murmured to herself as she waited for service.   



	3. Encounter

Episode 2 starts a few days after the time of this story.

------------------------------------

Encounter

-------------------------------------------   
"OHHH!" Cybersix groaned as she clutched at her left arm as it crackled with green fire, pain shooting up the inside of her upper arm, and seemingly into her heart, _"It's getting worse. Oh why do I delay hunting until it starts getting bad?"_

She knew why. She thought about that strange, strange Fixed Idea....

_She lay sobbing, kneeling beside her cot, the pain in her heart for the loss of 29 accented by the spasms of agony every time she breathed. The one responsible for her section had been openly criticized by Von Richter for his carelessness. He blamed her and had beaten her severely, stopping only when a Fixed Idea standing to the side muttered, "He want kill her."_

_"It's my fault." she thought, "I should have grabbed his hand. I shouldn't have said that flower was pretty. I should have gotten it myself. I-"_

_**"Please stop crying."** the voice said. Something gently enfolded her left shoulder._

_"Oh!" she turned and looked into the face of a Fixed Idea. He was smiling and his eyes looked so kind. His huge hand covered her left side, but she hardly felt it._

_**"I know the beating hurts. Please stop crying."** His voice was not like the others. It was deep, resonant, intelligent. Even while he was trying to whisper, one would think the ground shook slightly._

_"It's not the beating. It's the-" she started, then began to sob._

_A huge finger touched her cheek and wiped at a tear, **"You are sad for your brother, aren't you? That he is gone."**_

_"Yes, I am. I should have-"_

_The huge finger moved to her lips, **"Hush. He would be sad to see you hurt like this. For him, do not cry."**_

_She reached up and barely got her fingers all around his huge thumb._

_"You. You're not like the other big ones." she said wonderingly, her pain momentarily forgotten as her curiosity was piqued._

_**"I am special, but I am your brother too. Please do not tell anyone."** he asked, looking a little worried._

_"I won't." She assured him, "We'll be friends. That will be fun."_

**_"I would like that. I must go, now. Do not cry, pretty one."_**

_"I won't." she nodded, "Goodbye."_

**_"Goodbye."_**

_He stood up, smiled, and said, "Good. you stop cry." Just like the others. She grinned and nodded. He left, and she crawled into her cot._

_"I have a friend again." she thought, "A special one."_   


You couldn't tell, looking at that Fixed Idea, that he was different. But he was. You could not tell looking at the outside, and it was not possible to look inside and discover the difference. So, every time she started an attack against a Fixed Idea, she would hesitate. She would wonder, _"Is this my friend?"_ She would make it speak, or let it attack first by its own will, to be sure it wasn't her friend. That hesitation sometimes almost got her hurt or killed.

But she had to be sure. To drink the sustenance from the vial of her friend would be....horrid.

The pain was subsiding. She put her hat on, opened the window, and leaped out onto the roof of the building across the.street. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she started the search for the liquid that gave her life.

-------------------------------

Dr. Anthony Zacharias trudged down the dark street toward his home. It had been a long day of teaching, grading papers, supervising the Physics labs, cleaning up, and preparing for Monday. He had stayed late, as he usually did on Fridays. He preferred having everything neat and tidy so that he would not have anything to dread over the weekend upon returning to work. He was looking forward to a nice, quiet weekend writing his next paper.

The street was nearly deserted. A normal citizen would have avoided this particular street, which suited Dr. Zack' needs perfectly. A regular pattern was something he knew he needed to avoid.

He heard a loud, crashing noise, like the falling or smashing of crates, coming from an alleyway about 50 yards ahead of him.

"Hmm. Quite a catfight, it sounds like!" He said to himself, grinning. He crossed the street and picked up his pace. He did so, not out of a desire to avoid the fight, but to better see the defeated party bursting out of the alley in a spitting scramble of legs and fur. Cats were such proud animals, and he took a perverse delight in seeing anything proud or pretentious getting put in its place.

He frowned as the noises got louder. If those were cats fighting, they'd have to be the size of tigers.

Then he heard the sounds of a man growling and a woman gasping, accompanied by the sound of more crates breaking violently. He broke into a run and knocked his hat off as he reached behind him. His right hand went down his outer shirt, grabbed the ski-mask tied to his wave suit, and pulled it up and over his head in one swift motion, pushing the edges through the shirt collar and over the suit collar so that there were no gaps. His left reached into his back pocket and pulled out his gloves. He pulled the right one on, then the left. Before pulling the left glove down all the way over the sleeve, his right index finger snaked into the sleeve and hooked the knife in the arm sheath by the handle and pulled it out. It had a 3 inch blade, with a wide handle that had holes for his right hand fingers to slip though and more firmly grip it. It would be very hard to lose in a fight, and doubled as brass knuckles to boot. The blade was held in "bottom" position, opposite of the thumb.

He had practiced these moves countless times, while running, crouching, standing, sitting, and lying down. He knew he was ready for THEM when he had caught himself doing it when being startled out of his sleep at some strange noise in the night.

This would be the first time he was doing it for real. He was prepared to fight to the death, but he always wondered if he would have the nerve and spunk to do it when the time actually came. He had never considered the possibility that he might have to defend someone else.

"Wave suit on. Wave suit 80 percent." he whispered, "Wave suit, senses full on". He glanced down. The back of the gloves had turned a dark gray and he could hear his footsteps. He could also feel the knife handle through the insides of his fingers. Good. If it hadn't activated, he'd be running this fast, but in the opposite direction.

There was a crackle of something in the alley, followed by an agonized cry of pain that sounded feminine. Dr. Zack turned the corner, only to duck when something black flew over his head with the sound of cloth flapping. It hit the street pavement behind him. He shot a glance behind him to see a black form crumpled up. It moved slightly, then collapsed.

A roar in front of him grabbed his attention. He turned and gaped at the sight of a huge, hulking brute of a man full seven or eight feet high, wearing a mask, bearing down on him. His arms were as big as tree trunks.

"uhhh! WAVE SUIT FULL!" he shouted, bracing as the giant lifted an arm to backhand him aside.

The giant swept his arm across, aiming at Dr. Zack' upper right arm.

But the arm stopped dead in its sweep the moment it touched the professor's arm. The thug had expected to sweep the intruder aside, so his forward momentum made him run into the doctor, but he stopped as quickly as if he had run into a bank vault door. He fell backwards, thrown off balance.

"Well I'll be damned. It works!" Dr. Zack was immensely relieved and gratified. Theory was one thing, but application was another! He backed up two steps from the scrambling form on the ground and threw a quick glance behind himself to check on the other combatant. The black form was still there, and wasn't moving..

"RRRAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!"

"Uh oh. Almost forgot about Goliath!" he thought ruefully. He turned just in time to see the look of puzzlement on the brute's face when his huge right fist stopped dead on the professor's upper left shoulder. Without thinking, Dr. Zack swung his right hand and brought the knife down across his opponent's right forearm. It sliced through the skin and muscle, missing the bone.

"AAAUUGGHHH! YOU HURT ME!" 'Goliath' howled. He swung with the other arm, which also stopped dead in its swing when it contacted Dr. Zack's right shoulder.

"WAVE SUIT! GLOVES OFF!" Dr. Zack shouted. Gripping the handle of the knife firmly while putting the palm of his left hand against its heel, he stabbed it into Goliath's right side. Pulling with all his might, he sliced horizontally through the abdomen, staggering when the knife emerged out the other side.

'Goliath' grunted and staggered backwards, a look of puzzled astonishment on his face. A strange, green glow came from the cut. He tipped backwards and collapsed to the ground.

Dr. Zack's heart was thumping and he was heady with adrenaline. He glanced down at his bloody gloves, surprised that the blood seemed to have a greenish glowing tinge to it.

Suddenly, the gloves began to shine a bright green. So did the body in front of him. He gasped and staggered backwards, "Gloves on!" he commanded.

The light faded quickly. He glanced at his gloves again. They were still white. The command to turn them back on had not taken effect. He gritted his teeth in irritation. He had forgotten to utter "wave suit" first, the command prefix for the speech recognition algorithm.

Suddenly, he realized that his gloves were not covered with that greenish blood anymore! He glanced down at 'Goliath', but there was no body, only a pile of clothes lying on the ground. He bent down and poked at the clothes. Nothing!

"Hello! What's this?" he muttered. He had lifted the shirt and saw a glass tube filled with a brightly glowing green liquid. He slipped his knife into his inner coat pocket and picked it up.

It was a glass tube capped at both ends with thick, screw-on metal caps. He tipped the tube. Whatever was inside, it was rather thin and ran easily from one side to the other.

"ohhhh."

"wave suit off." He said, slipping the tube into his inner coat pocket and pulling off his gloves. The ski mask followed, tucked in behind his coat by the time he got to the woman.

For a woman it was. She was propped up on one arm and shaking her head. Rather pretty, and of average height. Thin boned, though.

"Are you okay, miss?" he asked her, kneeling beside her.

"OH!" She jerked her head in a start and glanced around wildly, "WHERE IS HE?" she demanded.

"Goliath? He's gone. Are you okay?" he asked her again, " That was quite a tumble you took. Any broken bones?" From the looks of her, he was sure that brute had to have broken something.

"Gone? Why would he go?" the second question was more directed to her self than to him, "He had me. I must have been out for a few seconds."

"Closer to a half minute. Hey!" he protested as she got up, "Take it easy, miss! You don't know if you've got a concussion or something broken!"

"I'm okay. Did you see where he went?" she continued to look around.

"Miss, he just vanished in a flash of green light. Do you know…"

At that, the woman turned and ran into the alley. He followed, finding her on her knees scrabbling desperately through the clothes 'Goliath' had left. He waited quietly as she searched for a few minutes before collapsing on them, "Oh no! Where did it go?" she moaned.

"Where did what go?"

She looked at him for the first time, then gave a start, as if from recognition. She was more beautiful than at first impression, given those large black eyes of hers. He had never liked the hairstyle she wore, where half the hair was long and combed over the front of the face to hide half of it, but it "worked" with her, "Nothing," she murmured, "nothing."

She tried to rise, but clutched at her left arm, cried out, and collapsed back to her knees. Dr. Zack was startled to see and hear sparks erupting from it, followed by a green glow that he would have sworn matched the tint of the liquid in the glass tube and the glow from the cut he gave 'Goliath'. "Are you hurt?" he asked, kneeling down beside her, "Do you need help?"

She gasped a few times before shaking her head, "No! I'll be okay!"

Something snapped inside Dr. Zack, "Young lady!" he scolded her as if she was one of his stubborn students, "*I* think you ARE hurt! You ARE in trouble! You WERE looking for something! But-" Her eyes had gone wide at his outburst, snapping from his face to the finger he was wagging in her face, "no matter how bad your situation is, you should appreciate help and kindness when offered, and you certainly shouldn't lie about your troubles! Maybe to strangers, but I doubt that I am a stranger to you, given your reaction when you took the trouble to even look at me!"

Irritated, he grabbed her hand with one hand and twisted it so her palm faced up. With the other, he reached carelessly into his coat pocket and grabbed the tube, slicing his finger on his knife in the process. "Ow!" He winced, "I think you were looking for this!" he slapped it into her palm, and forced her fingers over it. He sucked at the slice in his ring finger as he rose, "Good night and good bye!" he turned on his heel and strode out of the alley, leaving her staring at him, the tube in her hand.

On top of the ingratitude of the woman he'd rescued, Dr. Zack was irritated at his own shortcomings. He'd have to think of a better way to reconfigure the wave suit in the heat of battle. And he should have been more careful with his knife. He opened his coat and groaned: the knife tip had sliced through the threads holding the coat pocket to the coat itself. It was his favorite coat, and he was a lousy sewer. He'd have to get it mended first thing tomorrow morning. That is, if he could find a tailor open on Saturday.

And his hat! He'd forgotten that he'd pushed it off in the rush to pull his mask on. He doubled back to retrieve his hat. Most men in Meridiana didn't wear hats, but this one was rather important, having a motion detector built in that would warn him of people approaching from behind him. The inner lining was the same material as the wave suit, and would shield his head from blows from behind and above.

At least, he thought with some satisfaction, all that time sharpening his knife and practicing with it had not gone to waste. Went right through that monster's belly like a hot knife through butter. "And through this too." He said wryly, inspecting his finger and wincing at the slice.

He glanced down the alley where the fight had taken place as he passed it, then stopped.

That woman was still on her knees. She was lifting the glass tube and drinking the contents, for the green glow was dying away. She shook it to get the very last drops. When she lowered it, she saw him.

Their eyes locked for a moment. Then Dr. Zack shook his head and walked on. He had only gone a few steps when he heard the woman angrily say something unintelligible, followed by the sharp tinkle of breaking glass.

Dr. Zack found his hat on the sidewalk and put it back on. He turned around to retrace his steps but hesitated when he looked up and saw somebody standing next to the lamppost up the street. With a start, he recognized the woman, who was now wearing a broad-brimmed hat and had wrapped her cape around her body. Her face was in shadow, but it did seem that she was watching and waiting for him. Wondering what was going on, Dr. Zack decided to proceed as if nothing had happened.

He approached the light and made as if to pass her, when she stepped out in front of him, reaching into her suit top for something. He stopped, wondering if he had backed the wrong party. And his knife was in his coat pocket.

She pulled out a large band aid and stepped up to him, "You know, sucking on a wound could infect it." She said quietly, tearing the packet open.

He smiled a little, and was more than a little relieved. He held out his cut finger and let her apply the bandage. It was warm from her body heat, and her fingers were gentle as she put it on and made sure it was secure, "You'd better wash it when you get home and apply some antibiotics." She counseled him.

"It sounds as if you have lots of experience in this, Miss. , ah?"

"Cybersix. Just call me Cybersix." She replied. She squeezed his fingers ever so slightly, "So, how did you kill that Fixed Idea?"

"Fixed Idea? You mean Goliath?"

"Yes."

"With this." He opened his coat and gingerly pulled his knife out of the pocket.

"It seems to have gotten you too. I wondered how you could have cut yourself on that vial." She watched, eyebrows going up when Dr. Zack slipped it back into its arm sheath where it belonged.

"It got my coat too." He said regretfully. "You don't happen to have a sewing kit on you, do you?" he looked at her speculatively.

She smiled, "I have hardly enough room in this suit for myself."

"I should have expected that." He said, shooting a quick, appreciative glance up and down her lithe, trim form. "Ah, I'm forgetting my manners! I'm Dr. Anthony Zacharias, physics professor at Meridiana High School, Miss Cybersix."

She chuckled, appreciating the unspoken compliment, "Just Cybersix is fine. I'm sorry I forgot my manners too. Thanks for rescuing me. I normally could have handled the Fixed Idea, but I was having other problems."

"I see. And am I correct in assuming that whatever that green glowing stuff was, it helps you handle those seizures?" he asked.

She just inclined her head.

"So, it is not an addiction, but some sort of physical shortcoming you have that it serves to relieve?" he hazarded.

"Yes."

"So you need it like a diabetic needs insulin." He mused out loud, not noticing Cybersix looking slightly startled at that statement, "Well then, if I am forced to dispatch another hostile Fixed Idea, I shall be sure to keep his vial for you." He finished gallantly. She was rather charming after all. It was good to know she wasn't addicted to some obscure drug, with all the negative connotations that implied. A diabetic late for an insulin shot would be as desperate.

"I would appreciate that." She said with obvious gratitude, mixed with some relief, "But I wouldn't do that if I were you. They are extremely strong, and you were lucky this time. Do not risk yourself on my account."

"I believe there is more to each of us than the other thinks, Cybersix."

She just smiled, "Please take care of that finger, Dr. Zacharias, and have a good night."

Before he could reply, she leaped up. Dr. Zack jerked his head up and barely caught sight of her against the white clouds before she flipped over the edge of the building and out of sight. "Goodness!" he gasped, wondering how much force was required to perform that feat. It didn't seem possible, based on the size of her limbs. She was as dainty as…

He swerved away from that line of thought by working out the required forces in his head as he continued on his way home. He did not notice Cybersix on the roof watching him walk down the street and follow him to his home, a large townhouse located just off Meridiana's main park.   
--------------------------------------   
"Well, mystery upon mystery." Cybersix sighed as she pulled her hat off and put it in the closet, "How can a high school professor afford such a large townhouse next to the park? And how on earth did he defeat that Fixed Idea?"

She shook her head as she undid her cape. Here she was asking questions about her fellow faculty member, when her own behavior puzzled her.

She had thought long and hard about the obvious parallels between the drug addicts on the street mugging people to support her habit, and her killing of Fixed ideas to support her dependency on sustenance. She couldn't blame Dr. Zack for thinking she was an addict when he caught her drinking from the vial.

Normally, she wouldn't have cared. She'd have leaped away and not looked back. Instead, something made her fling the vial down in an unusual fit of anger, then offer to bandage his finger. What on earth made her do that?

She winced. Her left arm was still sore from shorting out. Not to mention the beating the Fixed Idea had given it. A good hot bath would help that, she decided with a smile. And since it was a Friday night, she'd be able to add the bath oils she normally skipped during the week. It wouldn't do to go to class and have Adrian literally smelling like a rose. She started the hot water running.

_"So, you need it like a diabetic needs insulin."_

She sat on the edge of the bathtub, rubbing her upper left arm while watching the water splash into it. She thought about what Dr. Zack had said. She remembered a schoolmate who had fainted in Advanced Literature class because he had been so rushed that he had delayed taking his insulin shot. He was just an acquaintance, but the feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed her as she watched and waited while the teacher had left to get help was still vivid in her mind. _"I guess I'm not that much different from a diabetic."_ she thought, _"Maybe Dr. Zack is right."_

That thought made her feel a little better. She had a dependency, but not an addiction in the normal sense of the word. She still didn't know why she talked with him. Perhaps it was curiosity. Perhaps it was the need to apologize for her behavior. Whatever the reason, she was glad she did.   



	4. Jose

This happens also just before Episode 2.

------------------------------------

Jose

"HMMM. Very interesting!" Jose muttered to himself as he was reading The Independent.

The Techno assigned to him looked over at him, "What boss?"

"Says here that they're having an exhibition of Central American Indian artifacts at the Meridiana Museum of Art and Culture."

"You want to go to a museum and see artifacts taken from dead indians?"

"Nah, just one. The Axe of Tezcatlipoca, on loan from the Dilingas family."

"Duhh, what?" the fixed idea to his left blinked.

"This axe was used in human sacrifice. It supposedly channeled the life energy of the victim through the priest, giving him great power and insight." Jose looked off into space, "I could use an axe like that."

"It didn't help those indians very much." The Techno remarked callously.

"Maybe, maybe not." He typed into a keyboard and started a web search, "Yes! Look here!" He started hopping up and down, "Here's a conquistador record of an unusual siege against an indian city that lasted several months! The monks reported the use of devilish fire and lightning. The indians almost always seemed to know when attacks would occur before they happened! Raoul Lingas was a captain with the force who was given credit for a daring, one person raid on the city. His action emboldened the soldiers, and the city fell only a few days afterwards!"

"I'd sooner see an artifact from that Raoul guy than from those indians." The Techno commented while Jose initiated another web search.

"AHAAA!" Jose crowed when he saw the readout. He spun himself around in the desk chair, "Get ready boys! We're going to the Museum!"

========================

"Well, Dr. Zacharias? How are things going with the youth of Meridiana?" the manager of one of the major banks of Meridiana asked him.

"Not any worse or better than when we were their age!" Dr. Zack said solemnly, while thinking, "And your brat is flunking Algebra I."

The banker laughed and patted him on the back.

Formal parties like these were the bane of Dr. Zack's life. When his career had taken off, he had been advised to buy a good formal suit to wear. When the invitations became more frequent, he had one tailor made for him. If he had to suffer at one of these events, it wouldn't be because his suit was uncomfortable. The only bright spot was that he could still fit in it after all these years. Chalk that up to walking instead of driving in Meridiana.

Another bright spot was the prospect of getting a preview of the special exhibitions at the museum. It didn't hurt being one of the three people invited from the school system. Tilman was shmoozing on the other side of the room. Hardesty, the assistant principal, was talking animatedly with the wife of the second richest man in Meridiana.

"We're ready to start now!" The Museum curator announced, "Sandy here will lead the first group!"

Relieved, Dr. Zack was first in line. Sandy nodded and smiled, recognizing him, "Ready to see some artifacts, Doctor?"

"Yes indeed!"

========================

"And this is the Axe of Tezcatlipoca." Sandy circled the large group around the glass case holding the axe.

Dr. Zack admired the axe. The head was a pitch black stone in a handle of gold, about the size of a large hammer. Figures formed a spiral from below the head down to the base of the handle.

"The axe is one of the few gold artifacts we have from the conquistador period of our country. The majority of artifacts were melted down into gold coin and shipped back to Spain. Legend has it that the axe was used in ceremonial sacrifices. The jaguar deity, Tezcatlipoca was the brother of Quetzalcoatl, the winged serpent, and demanded blood sacrifices instead of grain." Sandy leaned over the case and pointed at the handle, "The carvings circling the handle indicate that when the axe was used on the victim, it channeled the victim's soul and energized the soul of the wielder, giving him great power and insight. Chemical analysis of the blade and handle do not indicate the presence of human blood, so we have no idea if it was actually used."

She smiled, "We are very grateful to Eduardo and Felicia DiLingas, who has loaned the axe to us. It was discovered in a trunk in their attic last year! So, when all of you get back home, please check your attics for us!"

The group laughed politely, "Any questions so far?" she asked.

"What is the head made of?" Dr. Zack asked, facinated.

"We think it is made of flint, although obsidian is not ruled out. It is a form of glass, but we cannot account for the unusually black tint." She peeked at it over the top of the case, "It IS an unusual shade of black, isn't it?"

"Sure is." He nodded.

"Well, over here in this case we have some pottery…." Sandy led the group to the west wall.

Dr. Zack stayed behind to look at the axe. "Unusual," he thought, "Maybe if I took a quick peek, I might see some blood…"

He concentrated on the axe head.

==========================

The nightmares had started during the summer after his second year in high school. Visions of glowing chains of balls, impossibly craggy landscapes, and huge, horribly constructed and animated monsters startled him out of sleep, sometimes with screams of terror. He learned not to awaken his family, but his summer was miserable because of the dreams that aroused him from sleep and left him tired and fatigued halfway through the day. He was hesitant to say anything because there was a family history of insanity, and he didn't want to be rushed off to the insane asylum like two distant relatives had been. Some of the campfire tales relatives told included the details of their descent into madness.

But he could not hide the problem after he started his third year. The fatigue and sleepiness affected his grades, and his parents were alternately alarmed and angry. He muddled through the first two months somehow, and barely ranked at the middle of the class. He was not going to make valedictorian at this rate, and he knew he was capable of doing better. He simply was just too tired and shell-shocked from the nightmares.

Then came a special lecture in Biology that brought salvation. Mr. Ames, the Biology teacher, decided to gross out the class, so he showed slides of dust mites and other small creatures that live on every person's skin without being aware of them. He showed the slide of a dust mite and remarked, "You people have these in your pillows. Nice bedmates, aren't they?"

Anthony gasped and almost shouted out in class. In every detail, the dust mite looked like one of the monsters from his dreams! As Mr. Ames went through the slides, Anthony recognized one "monster" after another.

His grades further slid in every area except Biology as he feverishly began searching through books and research articles on mid-sized microorganisms. The craggy landscapes turned out to be the surfaces of various objects greatly magnified. His midterm grades mystified everyone, including his parents. However, when someone remarked that Biology was a good pre-requisite for a medical career, they decided to bide their time and see what would happen.

With knowledge came power. He was able to master his fears and came to enjoy his "science movies" as he soon came to call them. In fact, he decided to write a science fair paper on the living habits of the dust mite. It won an award and earned a special commendation from several professors of Biology for its vivid accuracy and for an interesting speculation on the use of one of the appendages. One of the professors pursued the speculation, discovered it was true, and wrote a paper that detailed the discovery and credited the teenage Anthony Zacharias for the lead. The "interesting speculation" was based on a description of the use of the appendage that Anthony saw in one of his "science movies". He finished the first half of the year with an above average GPA thanks to a lot of last minute cramming.

Chemistry brought further revelations that were even more astounding: the glowing chains of balls seemed to match the ball and stick models! From the angles of the balls and the size of them, Anthony soon was able to deduce that many of the chains were protein fibers that made up linen. Chemistry took the place of Biology as his main study.

He began to suspect that his "science movies" were the manifestation of a natural talent when they began to consistently show chains of balls and no more dust mites. The cooperation his dreams were showing indicated a talent that might be controllable. He finished the year near the top, but he wouldn't be valedictorian because of the dip.

He pursued his suspicion by a rigorous regimen of study, sleep, and research through the summer. Halfway through, he was able to start controlling and directing the "movies". Three days before school started, he had a "science movie" during the day, wide awake, while concentrating on a chemistry model. He copied down the structure he saw and began to search the literature for what it represented.

It matched the molecular structure of the plastic of the model itself.

As the years passed, he gained more control, and pushed the limits. He soon was attracted to the field of Quantum Mechanics: He had always been good at math, and the world at the quantum level obeyed mathematical laws and rules with a precision that made him realize that Einstein* had been right about the structure of the universe. He wasn't sure about God, but the world he saw certainly didn't use dice. He was able to couple his "subatomic insight" with mathematics and the basic principles of Quantum Mechanics to comprehend what he saw. It was while "pushing the limits" that he discovered the inherent granularity of the universe, and found that his "insight" was connected with a low power form of telekinesis, enabling him to "push between the grains" of the fabric of space and open up channels through it. He decided to keep that discovery to himself until he was ready to retire and finish off his career with a flourish (and perhaps with a Nobel Prize in Physics). In the meantime, it was a useful talent to have if he happened to forget his keys or had an itch that he couldn't reach.

============================

With the ease of long years of practice since that school year, Dr. Zack's field of vision filled with the axe, making him feel as if he was bungee jumping through the case and into the axe head. It was like flying without an airplane: The only thing missing was the feel of the wind against his face.

He watched for the approach of the axe surface. Even the smoothest of surfaces showed irregularities that made them more rugged than the Rockies. He mentally avoided dust motes and other particles attached to the surface by static electricity.

"What the-" He mentally braked when, instead of "Rockies," glowing chains of balls began to appear in the distance instead. That told him he had passed the microscopic level and was heading for the atomic level. He glanced "around", then pulled back to what he hoped was at 4000 magnification. He started scanning for cracks where he hoped to find blood cells.

Things were not right at this level of magnification. The scale of the dust motes was correct, but the surface was funny looking. Very flat and regular, with no sign of the "Rocky mountain" effect he was familiar with from other surfaces.

"Are you okay, Dr. Zacharias?"

The doctor was startled, and his vision snapped to normal. He looked around and saw Tilman and Sandy looking at him with concern. He smiled, "I'm fine. It's just that the surface is rather…enchanting." He said, pointing at the axe, "Quite facinating. I'd like to stay here and go back with the second group, if you please."

"No problem, Doctor." Sandy replied.

"Sure you're okay Dr. Zack?" Tilman asked him.

"I'll be fine Henry." Dr. Zacharias assured him.

The room grew quiet as everyone left, talking about what they had seen. Dr. Zack waited until they were gone, then concentrated on the axe head again. He had a suspicion of what the axe head was made of, but he had to make sure.

Several minutes of surveying the axe surface confirmed his suspicions. It was indeed made of Silicon Dioxide, but the crystal structure was regular and not amorphous. In other words, it was glass, but the atoms were arranged in a regular pattern, as if it was a crystal. The effects of the crystalline structure downshifted almost all light frequencies, accounting for the black color. Dr. Zacharias snapped his vision back to normal and pulled out his writing pad to note down this interesting effect. Glass, in order to be transparent, needed to have a non-regular structure to transmit light. Interesting.

Another fact about the axe head was that it appeared to have no crystalline irregularities or impurities. Even the finest diamonds have millions of irregularities per carat at the microscopic level, as well as many major fissures that ran through the entire crystal, allowing it to be cleaved and cut into shape. He probably could find one, but he could cover a lot of microscopic ground in a few minutes, and he hadn't seen anything.

This posed many disturbing problems. How could the PreColumbian indians have created a pure monoregular glass crystal? Silicon dioxide was difficult stuff to work with. If they couldn't create it, then where did it come from?

Another problem: what was the effect of monoregular silicon dioxide? He knew what the effect on copper sulfide was, since the quantum batteries his wave suit used to store the power it slopped up had monoregular copper sulfide as a prime ingredient, and that took nanotechnology to accomplish. Even he was careful in his little basement operation to not create…

"COME ON YOU IDIOTS!" A shrill young voice called from down the hall, "WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!"

"They're still getting the next group together Master! We have a few minutes to get this axe you're so hot after."

"Tell the types to stall!"

"Damn!" Dr. Zack's thought, "Thieves!" He glanced around and ducked behind a standing 3D display. He began to undress as quietly as possible. The Wave suit was good camouflage in the dark, but only if he wasn't wearing anything on top.

He was slipping his shoes and coat off when some people came into the room.

"Find the Axe!" the young voice ordered.

A display case crashed to the floor.

"JUST LOOK, YOU IDIOT!" The boy shouted.

"They'll hear us, master!"

Dr. Zack quickly pulled the hood and gloves on, and squeezed the grip of his knife. Good thing he had taken the time to reprogram the suit program, "Attack mode, Eighty on." He whispered. The computer had been reprogrammed to obey all orders that increased protection, but required the "wave suit" prefix to downgrade. He also programmed in several short commands that expanded into several normal sentences: Attack mode meant everything on except the palms of his gloves, so that he could use the knife as a weapon.

"Uuuhhh! Here it is!" someone called.

"Wha-?" Dr. Zacharias peeked out the side of the display. That voice sure sounded familiar…

Four fixed ideas, an adult, and a small boy were surrounding the case.

"Pretty axe!" one of the fixed ideas remarked.

"LIFT ME UP!" The boy shouted.

The boy was lifted up by one of the fixed ideas. He pressed his face against the case, "There it is! The Axe of Tezcatlipoca!"

"What good is it?" The adult said.

"Fool! This will make me master of the world! I'll be able to anticipate Cybersix's moves and destroy her! Cut it open!"

The adult began to use a diamond glass cutter to open the case, "But how…"

"Fool! Raoul Lingas' one-man raid was to take this axe! He was successful, which accounts for the fall of the city shortly after it was taken. The priest was looking for full scale attacks, not a commando raid!"

"But how are you sure?" The adult asked.

"Raoul was well rewarded by the Spanish Crown! He was made a noble."

"So?"

"Idiot! When a man is made a Spanish noble, they add an honorific 'Di' to his last name! Lingas became DiLingas, the ancestor of the family that owns this axe!"

The adult lifted the axe out of the case.

"Or USED to own it!" he laughed, taking the axe, "King Jose! Sounds good to me!"

"So you have an axe that used to belong to some indians! So what?"

"GRRRRRR!" Jose turned around and slammed the axe into the technos chest, through the breastbone. Dr. Zack's nodded: monoregular crystals had very sharp edges that would wear away very slowly.

The techno began to quiver and shake. Jose began to cry out as blue fire came out of the techno's chest, through the axe handle, and up his arm into his body.

Well, THAT'S what monoregular silicon dioxide did! Dr. Zacharias slid out from behind the panel and walked silently behind the Fixed ideas, their attention fixed on Jose. Even his socks were part of the wave suit, and absorbed most sounds.

He plunged his knife into the backbone of one fixed idea as high as he could reach, between the vertebrae. He jumped out of the way and pulled the knife out as electrical signals from the brain ceased to go to the fixed idea's legs, causing him to collapse. He danced behind the fixed ideas as they turned to stare at their collapsed comrade, and took another opportunity to sink his knife into the backbone of the Fixed idea at the other end of the line.

"Huh?" Jose saw Dr. Zack when the techno collapsed to the floor, bumping into him, "Get him!"

A fixed idea swung at the good doctor, but the wave suit held: he felt a sharp blow, but didn't go anywhere. He stabbed the fixed idea in the side and gutted him like the one that had attacked Cybersix.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Jose laughed as Dr. Zack jumped out of the way of the collapsing fixed idea, "Try THIS on for size!"

He was pointing the axe at Dr. Zack. Yellow flames licked around the axe head, then a yellow beam flew out of the axe handle and hit him on the chest, sending him flying out the room and down the hall, crashing into a suit of armor.

"Ouch! I FELT that!" Dr. Zacharias groaned as he got up. At 80% efficiency, it had to be a very powerful weapon to throw him that far. Without the suit, it probably would have bored a hole through him or thrown him against the wall so hard, he would have been flattened like a pancake. Luckily, his knife had stayed with him.

"SO THAT'S HOW TO TAKE OVER MERIDIANA!" he heard Jose crowing, "How obvious! Lets go!"

"ATTACK MODE, FULL ON!" Dr. Zacharias shouted, running toward the exhibit. He had to act fast at that level.

The Fixed Idea came out of the exhibit, Jose on his shoulder. Jose saw the doctor, "Back for more, stupid?"

He fired the axe/laser at the doctor, but the suit slopped the energy up greedily. There is something extremely disturbing about a man clothed in the blackness of night, wearing a ski mask and holding a knife while bearing down on you at a full run. The Fixed Idea panicked, turned, and tried to run. Dr. Zack jumped up and plunged the knife into the spine of the Fixed Idea, pulling himself up with it. Jose shouted some orders, then drew the axe back to hit the Fixed idea with it. This allowed Dr. Zack to reach up and pluck it out of his hand while the Fixed Idea crashed to the floor, spilling Jose across the slick surface.

"Ohhh!" Jose moaned as he looked up and saw a black spectre rise from the Fixed Idea, the axe in one hand and a glittering knife in the other. "AAIIIEEEE!" he screamed. He turned and ran down the stairs.

The Fixed Idea under Dr. Zack flared green and disappeared. "Wave Suit off." He commanded, putting his knife away. He reached down and grabbed the glowing vial. He then ran to the exhibit case and returned the axe. He then grabbed three more vials, retrieved his clothes and shoes, then ran like a kid caught skinny-dipping during school hours by the truant officer.

He ran into the armor room. He put the vials away, then tore the sleeve of his suit. He then quickly dressed and checked for signs of anybody. Nobody yet.

"I'm not going to like this." He thought as he walked out of the hall, turned around, then did a flying tackle of a suit of armor.

====================

"I heard this group of people coming up the stairs from the back. I thought it was the group taking the long way around, so I went out to join them. Four huge hulking brutes! One grabbed me and threw me into the armor room, and that's all I remember." Dr. Zack winced as the Betadine was applied to the cut on his forehead.

"You're lucky you excaped with only a cut." The curator said, shaking his head, "I never imagined that anyone would try to steal the axe! We'll have to make a replica and return the original as soon as possible. We'll post guards in the meantime."

The Chief of Police was frowning mightily, glaring at Dr. Zack with suspicion, "So, how come they didn't get away with the axe?" he demanded.

"I am sorry, but I was out during this time." Dr. Zack said, wincing at the very real headache he didn't have to fake, "I have no idea who killed these five." He got up a bit unsteadily, "I'm going home. Maybe the night air will help."

"I can get Amato to take your physics Lab tomorrow." Tilman said, "Take it easy Anthony."

"Thanks Henry. I'll try and make it."

=====================

"Well, I didn't get the axe, but I did get a perfect plan to take over Meridiana!" Jose crowed to the new Techno.

"And what plan is that?"

"Father is infiltrating top society and the government with Types and Technos, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"He's going from the top down. Why not also go from the bottom up?"

"You mean…"

"Yes! We take over the underworld and use their connections to take over from beneath! Like a pincer movement during a battle! Father will be so proud I halved the time of the conquest!"

"That's a great idea!"

----------------------

*"God does not play dice with the Universe." Albert Einstein.


	5. Teatime

This also happens just before Episode 2, the next day after "Jose" takes place.

------------------------------------

Teatime

(Gawd! I hate this title! Anybody got any suggestions??)   
===========================

"Hi Jaques!" Cybersix, dressed as Adrian Seidelman, greeted the black man who ran the newsstand.

"Good morning Mr. Seidelman!" Jaques beamed at him and held out the morning paper, passing it to Adrian like a baton in a relay race, "Have a nice day!" he waved.

"Thank you!" Cybersix waved the paper in response.

Cybersix took every opportunity to give Adrian's business to any hard working native indian or black person. It was such a poor way to repay the debt her father had incurred when he looked past her skin color and origin to choose her to save and protect. She sometimes had to go without to make sure Adrian's credit was up to date with them, but she thought nothing of it. She remembered the community talk around the fire about the bad dealings the poor fishermen had with some white businessmen. She'd never be the subject of such talk if she could help it!

She unrolled the paper and glanced at the headline as she walked down the street.

She frowned at the front-page report of a failed robbery attempt at the Meridiana Museum last night.

She stopped when she read the description of the scene and the evidence left behind.

She scowled when she read about Dr. Zacharias' injury, "I am going to have a talk with that man!" she muttered resolutely in Adrian's voice, "Tonight!"

============================

Dr. Zacharias tamped the tobacco into his pipe as he regarded the four vials lying on the table beside him.

It was his favorite time of the day. He was in his easy chair in his study. A gas fire in the fireplace cast patterns of light and shadow across the walls of books surrounding him. A pot of tea was brewing in the small kitchenette/bathroom he had added to the study, and he had his favorite pipe in hand.

Normally, the clipboard holding the latest scribbles of his next paper would be in his lap, and he would start reviewing them after he lit the pipe. But the clipboard was still in the reading basket, mainly because of the interesting puzzle presented by the liquid in the vials. Instead, his notepad was in his lap and he had just finished scribbling down his observations.

He disliked scanning gasses and liquids: they seemed to give him more mental strain, probably because his talent had to compensate for the higher degree of fluid motion of the atoms. Solids were easier, and his speculations and theories could be moved over to liquids and gasses without too much trouble. Adding to the unpleasantness was the fact that the liquid glowed. Scanning glowing things felt like he was trying to read the label on the front of a fan that was blowing into his face at top speed. No idea why that was, but it was, and he had to live with it.

A gentle beeping sounded to his right. His heartbeat quickened as he swiveled to look at the security system readout set into the wall at floor level. Strange. The alarm was for the middle of the backyard, but there was no signal for the outer walls. A parachute attack? At night?

He heard a noise of something on the ledge outside, and the ledge alarm beeped. He swiveled around, ready to dash down the stairs to buy time to suit up.

There was a gentle tapping at the window. He threw a glance at it, and saw a black, caped form at the window, "Ah! A visitor!" he smiled, recognizing the shape of the face under the broad-brimmed hat, "House, Unlatch study window." he called out. The solenoids attached to the sliding bolts at the top and bottom of the window pulled the bolts back.

He lit a match and lit his pipe as Cybersix pushed the window panes aside and came in, "I DO have a front door." he remarked, puffing to get the pipe started.

"I prefer the window." she remarked. Her eyes slid to the table and took in the four vials, "I thought so. Are you okay? I told you not to endanger yourself for me!" she rebuked him.

He smiled and touched the bandage on his head, "Oh this? Just something I had to inflict on myself to avoid being questioned too deeply." he took a deep drag on his pipe, and blew it out toward the fire, "I was wondering when you'd hear about my little scrape with Jose and his charming band of vandals and dimwits."

"Jose?"

"The little brat that led that inept team. He was after the axe, claiming it would make him 'King Jose', if I remember correctly. I couldn't let him take it."

"Jose." Cybersix said to herself, memorizing the name.

"He got away without the axe. A good thing too. All the legends about it are true. I'm glad the Dilingas family reclaimed it and have it hidden away someplace."

She looked startled, "The ones about it giving power and insight to the priest after being used on a victim?"

Dr. Zack nodded, then made a face, "My dear Cybersix, I so rarely get visitors of the fair sex here that I am losing my manners. Please join me for some fruit tea, hmmm?"

She seemed torn between desire and caution.

Desire won. She smiled a little and slipped into the chair on the other side of the table.

"Excellent! Please excuse me as I get it?" He got up and went to the kitchenette.

He got the tea and laid out a set for two. He tore open a sealed tin of cookies and put them on a small plate. He then returned to the room.

Cybersix was still there, hands folded on her lap, looking around at the study. Dr. Zack was reminded of the daughter of a colleague who had insisted on dragging him away from a dinner party to play "teatime" with her.

He put the set down, moved the vials off to the corner nearer his chair, and laid out the service, "The tea is called Orchard Apple. Just take a little sip before adding any sugar." He advised, "I find I use much less with it than with others. No caffeine at this late hour for me, and I don't have anything that would help keep you awake." He poured some out into the cup she held out, "I have honey and sugar."

She took a sip, "Ummm! Very nice!" she nodded, "I'll just take a dash of honey if you please." she requested.

They sipped at the tea for a few long moments.

"So, what happened at the museum?" she asked.

"I was looking at the axe when I heard them blundering in through the back way. I hid behind a display. They got the axe, and Jose used it on an adult who was with him. I saw some kind of energy flowing from the adult to him through the axe. While the fixed ideas were occupied, I sneaked behind two and dispatched them. I disposed of the third that Jose sent after me. He used the axe to blow me across the hall, into the suit of armor. I returned to the fray, killed the last one and retrieved the axe."

Cybersix looked troubled and shook her head, "That's not what you told the police, and you definitely are hiding something. I've fought enough of those fixed ideas to know that the fight was not that easy."

"Well, the first two were." He defended himself modestly, winking.

She didn't seem too happy, "So, the axe really works?"

"Yes. It was what I call a monoregular crystal. They have very strange properties."

She blinked, then reached down and took a butter cookie, "The adult must have been a techno or a type not to have left a vial behind. They look very human, I should mention."

"Speaking of which, that's pretty strange stuff in those vials." Dr. Zacharias remarked.

"Oh?" there was a note of caution in her voice, "Like what?"

"The glowing is a surface effect. Only the atoms adjoining the glass walls are giving up their charges."

"Charges?"

"Yes. All the carbon atoms seem to be highly excitated, with both S shell electrons raised to the T shell. Very unusual. "

She blinked and nibbled at her cookie, "Go on."

"Funny thing is, they're not dropping back to the S shell. At least, the ones inside the liquid. Only the ones in molecules right next to the glass do that. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it, since that seems to violate the Pauli Exclusion Principle."

"I'm sorry Dr. Zacharias, but I didn't do well in science." She apologized.

"Oh! I'm sorry for being so abstract. What I should say is that, um," He wasn't used to talking quantum mechanics at such a low level, "Every carbon atom in that fluid is charged in a way that violates one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. Normally, nature would undo the violation by causing the charged atom to give up that charge. This stuff should spontaneously flash, but it isn't. That energy is partially given off as light, but it also gives off a lot of heat. Sort of like how Goliath and his brothers depart this vale of tears." he glanced at the vials.

Her eyes followed his, "So, it shouldn't be a liquid?" she asked.

"It shouldn't be anything at all. It should vaporize by itself, but it isn't. It's like the core of a laser beam, always in a pre-laser state, but never lasing. With the right equipment, that stuff could be the fuel for a very powerful laser or bomb. It doesn't lase, except where it forms a surface. Very puzzling."

"So," she put her cup down, "how do you know all this?" she asked him.

"Want more tea?" he asked.

"N-" she paused, then smiled, "Yes. I think I will." she picked the cup up and leaned toward him as he poured more tea into it.

"A strange talent of mine. Somehow, I have subatomic vision, capable of focussing down to subatomic levels." He shook his head, "When it first manifested in high school, I was afraid I was going mad, like some earlier distant cousins of mine. Luckily, in our day and age, we have microscopes, so I was able to match up what I saw to reality. I think now that those cousins also had the talent, but did not have the scientific knowledge to prove they were not going insane."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I've made a good living from it, as you can see."

She nodded, "A nice house you have here, Doctor. How do you handle it on a high school professor's budget?"

"Oh, I have my little methods for bringing in extra cash." He smiled, "All quite legal, I assure you. Enjoying yourself?"

"Oh yes!" she smiled back, surprised that she actually was enjoying all this.

"Did you play teatime when you were a little girl?" He asked.

She paused for a long moment, "No. Half the time, I don't think I even played as a little girl."

"That's sad." he replied, then bit his lip.

She smiled a strange, sad smile that tugged at Dr. Zacharias' heart, "Yes. It WAS sad." she admitted.

They sat sipping at the tea and thinking private thoughts.

"Well," Cybersix put her teacup down and looked at Dr. Zacharias, "I just came here to warn you not to endanger yourself for me."

"Tonight makes two run-ins that I've had with these Fixed Ideas. And with you, I might add. You should probably conclude that I can fend for myself fairly well against them As for you- Umm, do you mind?" he picked up his pipe and looked at her inquiringly.

"This is your house, Doctor."

"In which you are a welcome guest." He assured her as he started to tap out the ashes and refill it, "And by that, you should conclude that you have earned my trust to some extent."

She started, then laughed, "Doctor! I kill Fixed Ideas to live!" she said, "How can you be so sure I won't kill you?"

"Your words and actions belie that threat." He said with a smile, noting that she sat up straighter, a look of astonished curiosity on her face, "First, you bandage my finger and warn me not to endanger myself for you. Then you come in here for the sole purpose of rebuking me for risking myself on them. While I was out of this room, you could have taken the vials and have been out the window before I returned. Even now, I am sure you could do it, but you have not. Do you know what that tells me?"

"No, what?"

He finished tamping the tobacco in and began to light it, glancing over at her silently, and smiling at his ability to get her in suspense. She realized that, and began to laugh softly.

"Apart from being able to drink a liquid fit to fuel a laser capable of burning holes through tank armor, you've shown yourself to be am honest and caring person who shows concern for the wellbeing of others. Such as myself. Certainly you kill Fixed Ideas to live. Lions kill and eat zebras and humans to live. I cannot call you evil any more than I would the lion. If I was a zebra or a Fixed Idea, then I would have a different opinion, but I am not. You do not need to kill humans to live, for they are easier prey than a Fixed Idea. I surmise that both you and the Fixed Ideas are artificial beings of some sort. Am I correct?"

Cybersix had bowed her head.

"it helps no one to avoid the facts, Cybersix. Unless, of course, you don't need help."

She raised her head and opened her mouth to speak, but her eyes fell on the vials, and she hesitated. "Yes, we are." she said, closing her eyes.

"Then the Fixed Ideas should file a complaint specifying their grievance with their creators on this unusual dependency between you and themselves. Certainly they are better able to do so than the Zebra can to it's creator." Dr. Zacharias puffed on the pipe, then added as an afterthought, "Umm, more or less."

Cybersix began to chuckle. Dr. Zacharias sounded like the shop steward of a union. Which he was. Of a sort.

"Now, I, as the man, am intelligent enough to know about lions, so I take the prudent precation to always keep a zebra between me and the nearest lion." Dr. Zacharias continued as Cybersix tried not to giggle, waving his pipe as he spoke, "You, clearly being smarter than a lion, and perhaps smarter than me if given half a chance, can probably appreciate this offer."

He puffed on his pipe, watching as she demurely pressed her fist to her mouth.

"I'm ready, Doctor." she smiled, leaning over and helping herself to another cookie.

"This liquid interests me, as it does you, although for different reasons. Given my unique talent, I only require one vial for research and you can have the other three now. When your-condition-requires it, I will give you the last vial. You will be free to come at about this time once every week or two and check on my progress. If I am successful (and that is a big IF, I must add!) I hope to be able to tell you how to manufacture it so you won't have to kill Fixed Ideas to live. Unless, of course, they pose a danger to you or others. What do you think?"

"Will we be having tea like this?" she asked him, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"I should certainly hope so!"

"Well, only if you promise not to tangle with them yourself!"

"Umm, do you think they're smart enough **not** to tangle with me?"

She sighed, "Good point. Just don't go looking for them, okay?"

"Okay." He picked up three vials and held them out to her.

She looked at them then shook her head slowly and raised her hand to wave them off, "You keep them for me."

"They'll be in this box, where I keep my tobacco, to keep them from cracking." He indicated an ornate, inlaid wood box next to his chair. He opened it and put all four vials there, "Don't wait until you're hurting to come. I may be out of the country from time to time, and so will activate my home security system."

"It's impressive, Doctor Zacharias." She noted the console set into the wall, and remembered the voice activated window locks. She wondered if the ornamentation on the walls and along the edges was really just for looks, "Ummm, why all the security?"

"I have my reasons. Perhaps one day, when we feel comfortable enough to be open with each other, we can share our little secrets."

"Don't wait for me, Doctor."

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you."

Her eyebrows went up, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she arose and went to the window.

"House! Unlatch study window!" Dr. Zacharias said. The bolts slid open.

Cybersix stepped onto the window sill, then turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, "Thanks for the tea, Doctor." She then looked out the window, "Have a nice evening." she added.

"You too, Cybersix." He said to the empty window.

He shook his head at her speed, then got up to close the window.

"An unusual woman," he said to himself, "But quite the lady and charming in her own way. I think I shall enjoy our equally unusual but charming arrangement."   



	6. Data 7 and Julian

Data 7 and Julian   
This takes place very shortly after Episode 2   
---------------   
Mr. Jacobs looked up at the clock, _"Almost time for my unusual visitor"_ he thought, glancing at the door.

The first time the stranger had come, he had pulled out his shotgun to drive him away, obviously thinking him a burglar. Instead of pulling out a gun, the stranger had raised his hands and indicated a metal case he held in his hands. When Mr. Jacobs opened it, he saw three blood red hemispheres sitting inside it. Rubies. Rubies of such high quality that he knew, upon looking at the first with his jeweler's loupe, that he didn't have the cash on hand to pay for any one of them, and would have to get a loan to obtain all three. The stranger knew how much they were worth, but still promised to sell them, just that once, at a discount that Mr. Jacobs knew he'd never see again in his lifetime. The next day saw him in a mad scramble to cobble together a syndicate with two other jewelers of his acquaintance to pool enough money together to by the lot. The profits were enough to make the syndicate a permanent affair, as well as ensure its secrecy and the stranger's privacy. Mr. Jacobs had enough gray hairs on his head to know when not to ask questions of a man who wore a ski mask when doing business.

After that, every three weeks, the stranger would phone up a day in advance, giving Mr. Jacobs time to get the money together to buy what the man said he had to offer. Carat for carat, rubies of this quality were more valuable than diamonds.

The box on his counter buzzed, and a red light flashed on it. He turned it off, put it under the counter, then came around to unlock the door, "Good evening sir." he greeted the stranger as he came in, wearing a suit, trenchcoat, ski-mask, and hat. The stranger touched his gloved hand to his hat, went to the counter, and set his metal case on it.

Mr. Jacobs returned to his place, opened the case, and nodded at the three large rubies lying on the velvet bottom. He scooped them out, laid them on his pad, and started examining each one critically, "Hmm, this one is not as good as the other two or the last set you brought." he pushed one toward him, "See? There's a small flaw here."

The stranger took the loupe and looked where Mr. Jacobs indicated. After a few moments, he nodded his agreement.

"I can only give 17000 for that one, 20000 each for the others, as usual."

The stranger gave a thumbs-up. Mr. Jacobs pulled out three stacks of money, pulled 3000 out of one of them, and put them into the metal case. He closed it, latched it shut, and pushed it across to the stranger, "It's always a pleasure doing business with you. Straight, to the point, and no hot property." he said.

They shook hands, and the stranger left. He went to the phone and dialed a number, "Samuel? Abe here. My friend came by again. Is that Arab Sheik still looking for that matched set of his? He is? Yes, I have them. I'll run them through the system, of course, but it's a bother, because he hasn't yet sold me any stolen property. Yes, yes, I'll tell Tivel too. Have a good evening, Samuel."   
---------------   
_"I am not alone!"_ Cybersix thought exuberantly as she pushed off from the roof top. She sailed through the night air, the warm wind rushing against her face, _"29 is alive! I am not alone any more!"_

"WOOOPS!" she gasped. She rolled, grabbed the cape, and whipped it out wide to increase the drag on her body. She still overshot the far edge of the next rooftop. She released the cape and grabbed at a clothesline. It held as she whipped around it twice before letting go. She alighted lightly on the rooftop. She'd jumped a little _too_ exuberantly, she realized with wry amusement.

She wondered where Data 7 was. They had been reunited just two days earlier, and were still having problems linking up. He still didn't know his way around town yet, and obviously had to adjust his schedule to work around hers. Cybers didn't need much sleep, but she didn't know what his panther body required.

_"Maybe I'll just run around like I usually do to work my muscles out. Maybe he'll see me, and we'll get ourselves a Fixed Idea or two tonight."_

Did Data 7 need sustenance? She didn't know, but she knew she'd cheerfully share her precious stash with him if he did. _"The two of us working together would make a great team. Hmm, maybe I'd better tell him about my Fixed Idea friend. I wonder what he'd think about a smart Fixed Idea? For that matter, how am I going to know what he thinks at all?"_   
  
Pushing that problem aside for the moment, she started running, basking for the moment in the experience of being the happiest person in Meridiana that night.   
---------------   
Julian walked down the street, hands in his pockets. Another day gone, and he was still hungry. It was one thing to try to do the right thing, as that woman Cybersix wanted him to do, but it sure didn't do anything to fill his belly. He'd gone looking for work, but the storekeepers didn't need anyone today.

One thing for sure. He wasn't going back to Manny, the fat crook who seemed to speak through his nose. Looking back on it, it was really dumb stealing pocketbooks and turning the money over to Manny, getting back a puny share in the form of greasy french fries and a skinny hot dog. If he was going to go back to stealing, he'd keep the money for himself, drop the wallet into a mailbox, and not steal as many times.

He pushed the image of Cybersix out of his mind at that decision, _"Aww! I won't be seeing her again."_ he reasoned. He glanced up and down the street, not seeing anybody right... Hello there!

Julian ducked into an alley and poked his head out.

A man in a trenchcoat, wearing a hat AND a ski mask, was walking down the street. Weird. He had a thin steel case tucked under one arm. Julian shook his head: the trenchcoat made the hit too difficult. But the guy aroused his curiosity.

He ducked back into the alley and waited as the man trudged by. He then came back out and silently followed him from a distance.

They walked like this for a few minutes, when three men jumped out of a side alley and surrounded the man, who looked around him quickly.

Julian gulped and dashed to hide behind a trash can. Manny was one of the punks!

"Watcha got there, bub?" Manny demanded in his rasping voice, pointing at the case under the man's arm. The man grabbed at it protectively, "Sumptin' val-yoo-able, huh? Well, let Manny and his pals share in the wealth, huh?"

The man spun and flung the case down the street. It skittered past Julian's spot and flipped up onto the sidewalk. Julian eyed it.

"Wise guy, huh?" Manny signalled his men, who pulled out switchblades.

The man crouched down, looking around and putting his hand on his hat.

Suddenly, a long, whistling sound filled the air. Julian looked around: it sounded like someone blowing a whistle, only they weren't running out of breath.

Manny and his men looked around too.

The sound quickly deepened into a loud, long roar. It sounded like a jet engine at full throttle. The wind suddenly picked up in the street, and bits of paper blew violently toward the group. The men broke up and tried to stagger away from the man, who was still crouched, totally unaffected by the wind that was now screaming in on them from all directions.

Julian blinked. Papers and dust were whipped up from the street, only to disappear several feet above that man's head! He turned his head and saw the steel case lying on the sidewalk, also unaffected by the wind.   
---------------   
_"That doesn't sound good!"_ Cybersix skidded to a halt, turned, and began running toward the sound of the roar,   
---------------   
"LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" Manny yelled to his gang, his feet sliding on the pavement as he tried to fight the strong winds that had suddenly come at the same time as the roar. He scrambled as best he could toward the safety of the alley. His men slid around too.

Suddenly, the roaring stopped, as if a switch had been thrown. Manny's business partners took to their heels and fled.

Alone now, the man stood up. He pinched his nose through the ski mask, shook his head, then turned to retrieve his case.

It wasn't where he was sure he had flung it.

He looked around some more, then shook his head. He reached into a coat pocket, pulled out a small box with an antenna, and turned it on. He turned it around as if it was a radio finder, then strode off purposefully in a different direction.

In the alley, Manny was panting loudly, his heart thumping, _"What the hell was THAT??"_ he thought frantically. Whatever it was, it was too damn loud and acted like a giant vacuum cleaner! He stuck he head out and saw the back of the man walking away rapidly. Good, "Whew! Maybe I'd better just stick to getting streetbrats to steal wallets!"

"BETTER NOT!"

He glanced around wildly, then looked up and screamed when a caped figure leaped off the roof and came flapping down like an avenging angel.

Cybersix landed lightly on the ground, blocking the way back into the alley. Manny tried to run, but Cybersix grabbed him by the collar, spun him around, lifted him up, and slammed his back up against the street light. Manny gulped as he stared into the shadowed face of the dame that had fought a panther at the old opera house! Her black eyes glittered in the night.

"Don't go. WE have unfinished business." she said evenly, in a clear, deadly sounding voice, smiling when she paused.

"W-WE?" Manny couldn't feel the street!

"Oh yes! You remember ME, don't you?"

"Can't ferget ya!" Manny said shakily, trying to make it sound humorous.

"Good. Don't. Remember Julian?"

"Uhh, the street brat? Y-y-yes I do!"

"Good. Forget him."

"F-f-forget him?"

"Forget him. Don't you EVER force him back into pickpocketing again!" she pushed him harder into the lamppost for emphasis, "Understand me?"

"Y-y-yes ma'am!" Manny stuttered.

"Good. Get yourself an honest job!" She lifted him away from the lamppost, spun him around, set him down, and shoved him down the street.

When he got control of his feet again, he turned around.

She was gone.   
--------------   
Cybersix laughed softly to herself as she watched Manny flee down the street,, _"Once again Cybersix, the Terror of the Night, strikes again, raising fear in the hearts of evil doers!"_ The image of herself painted as a crimefighter made her laugh a bit louder, _"Girl, that was corny as hell! Those lines came right out of those comic books you had to read for that class on modern American culture!"_ She thought of Von Richter and stopped laughing, _"Unlike the comic book, I can't be sure that the good girl wins at the end of my story."_ she sighed, _"But the enemies are real. What a life!"_

She turned and started leaping from one roof to the other, looking for a clue to the cause of the roaring sound that had drawn her there in the first place. If it was Von Richter's doing, she wanted as much advance notice as possible.

Soon, she gave up and decided to go by the docks. Fish were there. Cats liked fish, so cats were there too. Data 7 was a cat. Umm, sort of. So maybe he'd be there too.   
-------------   
"WOW!" Julians' eyes bugged when he saw the stacks of cash that had been in the steel case he had pried open. He had found an old, unoccupied boat on the pier, and had taken up residence there after the old opera house had burned down. He had taken the case there.

He grabbed a bundle and began to count, but soon ran out of numbers.

"MMMMRRRR?"

He turned, "Data 7! Hi! Like my new pad?"

Data 7 craned his head and looked around the sparsely furnished room, slowly rocking with the waves. He walked up to Julian, who knelt down and began to scratch and pet him, "Hey, I'm glad you came back! Sorry I didn't have anything to give you yesterday, but we'll eat well from now on!"

Data 7's ears pricked up at that information. Especially about eating well.

"Look at this!"

Data 7 didn't know much about money, but had an idea of what Julian used to do. He turned to him, "MMMMM?" he rumbled.

"Hey, finders keepers!"

The panther looked askance at Julian, who was beginning to wonder if that woman Cybersix really wasn't crazy when she called the big cat "Brother".

"The guy threw it away!" Julian rationalized, "I saw it myself! Cross my heart and hope to die!"

Data 7 looked at the ground and moved his head sideways.

"Ohhh! I won't be able to find the guy anyhow! Crazy man wearing a ski mask! Hey, we can buy fish and steaks and-"

Julian would never know if his bald attempt at bribery would have succeeded with Data 7, because a jet of water appeared. Data 7 leaped and spun about to glare at it, while Julian thought frantically that the boat was sinking. He suddenly realized that the jet was appearing several inches away from the port hole, and was increasing in size...

"HEY!" Julian cried out as the water shot across the cabin and splashed everywhere.

Someone ran down the steps into the cabin, just as the jet of water suddenly disappeared. Data 7 Roared and leaped at the man with the ski mask.

The two wrestled on the floor, knocking the table down and making Julian jump out of the way. Data 7 howled and screamed as the man got onto his back, then bounded out of the cabin in an attempt to shake him off.

Julian ran outside, "DATA 7! DATA 7!" He shouted as he saw the panther leap and run about, trying to shake the man off.

"Julian!"

"Cybersix!" Julian recognized the woman's voice immediately, "Help Data 7!" He pointed.

Cybersix gasped. Someone was not only on Data 7, but while the cat had been howling, had gotten his forearm into the big cat's mouth! Data 7 was obviously trying to chomp down hard on the arm, but looked as if he was gagging on it instead. Every time he opened his mouth wider, the man wedged his forearm deeper into the pink, toothfilled mouth. His eyes gleamed wide with panic. She leaped to the struggling pair and began to kick and pound at her brother's attacker viciously.

It was like pounding on rocks. Her fist and foot kept stopping dead the moment she touched him.

_"NOOO! I WON'T LOSE YOU AGAIN!"_ her thoughts screamed. She changed tactics, getting around in front and trying to pull the man's arm out of her brother's mouth.

She caught sight of the man's eyes, which were a light blue. They both locked eyes for a moment..

Suddenly, the man pulled his arm out of Data 7's mouth and released him. Cybersix grabbed Data 7 and pulled him away, then fell on her knees and hugged him, "You okay brother? Are you all right?" she blubbered anxiously, petting at his head and neck, then burying her face in his thick fur to wipe off the tears of relief welling in her eyes.

The man stood up and backed off as Julian ran up.

"Wow! Cool!" Julian gasped as the ski-mask and gloves the man wore changed color from black to grey to white. Then the man pulled the mask back.

"Young lady," Dr. Zacharias said sternly, "I expect an explanation for all this!"


	7. The Upward Path

Dr. Zack puffed on his pipe and glanced down at Data 7, "Full yet, friend?"

"MMMMRRRRR!" Data 7 licked the sauce pan as if to indicate, _"Definitely not!"_

"Oh dear. That was my last filet mignon. You'll have to settle for some T-bone steaks I've got in the freezer. I'll have to go shopping tomorrow." He said as he got up, "How are you doing, Julian?"

"MMMph! Great!" Julian swallowed the byte of hamburger he was chewing. The remains of Three Happy Meals were strewn on Dr. Zack's kitchen table. Cybersix had settled for decaf, while the host had consumed four high strength Tylenols and an equal number of candy bars. Julian was eyeing the three that remained on the table.

"Data 7, you're eating the good doctor out of house and home!" She chided him.

Data 7 gave her a look that could only possibly mean, _"Quiet, Sis! I'm milking this for all it's worth!"_

"Now T-Bones, I've got plenty of!" Dr. Zack called out from the storage room. He came in with several in his arms, which he popped into the microwave and set on high for 10 minutes, "The bones will heat the meat up, but I'll have to cut the meat off of them to keep him from choking on them."

"Can't have that! Not after this night!" Cybersix said, who had been wildly relieved upon seeing this particular doctor instead of a hit-creature from the other doctor in her life.

Dr. Zack sat down and looked across at Cybersix, "So, if he was Cyber 29, and you are Cybersix, that leaves at least 27 of your brothers and sisters unaccounted for."

She sighed, "Closer to 5000," she said, "All accounted for."

"Hmmm." Dr. Zack glanced at Julian, who was looking at Cybersix strangely, "I can get the story later. Want one, Julian?" he asked, picking up a candy bar.

"Can I?" He asked.

"Sure." he said, handing it over.

Cybersix decided it was time to further satisfy her curiosity. Upon hearing that Data 7 was a panther with the brain of a Cyber that was her closest friend and brother, Dr. Zack had practically fallen over himself apologizing to Data 7, who was not in a forgiving mood. Leastways not on an empty stomach. "Many insults are mended over a good meal." he said, inviting all of them to his townhouse for an evening snack, stopping by to pick up something appropriate for Julian. Dr. Zacharias seemed to be familiar with the preferences of felines, for he had presented his entire stock of filet mignons to Data 7's critical eye and discerning palate.

"So, Dr. Zacharias, what can you tell me about your thermal underwear?"

"Mmmm. Well, it IS thermal underwear, but each thread is really a small wire in plastic insulation. The insulation has billions of special nanites mixed into the plastic.

"Nanites?"

"Mechanical machines built at the molecular level. These particular nanites are about five times the size of bacteria, and contain small assemblies of monoregular aluminum bits joined to magnetized nickel bits, imprisoned in a cage, like a three dimensional compass. When electricity is run through the central wire, the magnetized nickel bits rotate to align with the magnetic field. This indirectly aligns the monoregular aluminum bits, creating. in effect, a very long line of monoregular aluminum. You recall the effects of monoregular silicon dioxide."

"I do?"

"The axe."

"Oh, yes! Now I remember!"

"Essentially, the effect of monoregular aluminum is to generate a field with pizeoelectric properties. Put pressure on the field, and its energy is converted to electricity, which fortunately happens to be polarized in the direction of the current already flowing. Put a volt down the wire, put pressure on the wire, and you get 10 or 20 volts instead of one. If it went in the opposite direction, it'd destroy the magnetic field orienting the iron bits, destroying in turn the orientation of the monoregular bits, resulting in the collapse of the monoregular field."

Cybersix blinked.

"Ummm. Data 7 bites on my arm. The field sucks up the pressure, turns it into electricity, and puts it into a quantum battery made out of monoregular copper sulfate."

"Oh my. Is THAT how you defeated those Fixed Ideas?"

"I never leave home without it." Dr. Zacharias assured her, "They try to hit me, and my suit soaks up the energy from their punches. Even works with molecular motion, which is merely motion of atoms due to thermal energy. They press against the field, and the pressure is converted to electricity."

"So why does it turn from black to white?" Julian asked.

"Did you understand all that I said?" He asked.

"Nah. Just the part after Data 7 biting your arm."

"So why aren't you in school?"

"School's for the birds!" Julian scoffed, "I can get along without it!"

"You could have good clothes, three meals a day, and a roof over your head, young man."

"I'd rather be on my own!"

Dr. Zack chuckled, "A good citizen of Yanqui New Hampshire!"

"You calling me a Yanqui?"

"No. Just a good citizen of New Hampshire. I visited the place during the fall. Beautiful! The leaves in the trees turn all shades of yellow, red, and orange during the fall!"

Cybersix listened with interest. She could never leave Meridiana, so she envied Dr. Zack, _"Oh, to see the world!"_ she thought wishfully.

"They have their state motto on their license plate: Live free or die." Dr. Zack continued.

"Now THAT is a good motto to live by." Cybersix said decisively.

"Yeah!" Julian agreed, "Sounds like a great place to be!"

"I agree." Dr. Zack nodded, "One man told me that all men who wish to live free, no matter where they live, are also citizens of New Hampshire. But back to your question. The suit turns from white to black because it's absorbing the light waves. Apparently, the vibrational properties of light are interpreted as pressure by the field."

"Like a solar cell!" Cybersix breathed.

Dr. Zack nodded again, "100% efficient."

"But that means-"

"Yes. Imagine a world where every roof is covered with my cloth, absorbing the light rays and turning it into electricity to be stored in a box the size of a footstool. Power plants would be rendered obsolete. Even the nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants would produce electricity safely by wrapping the bundles in my cloth and absorbing energy from the radiation."

"No more pollution or global warming!" Cybersix got excited.

Dr. Zack raised a finger, "Alas, contrary to popular belief, power plants produce less than 30% of global air pollution. The remainder is created by cars and trucks. Nuclear plants contribute nothing to air pollution, but their nuclear pollution has the advantage of being easily detected and contained, a fact often overlooked in the heat of argument."

Cybersix was chagrined. She hadn't thought about THAT, "Still, 30% is a start, right?"

"True, but it's not enough to turn the tide. To get the other 70%, we need to handle the problem of transportation without bankrupting everyone who can't afford to buy new cars. It would be best to work within the bounds of the current vehicle infrastructure, which is centered around the internal combustion engine and a fuel delivery system that relies on it being a liquid. I have developed a nanite that could be added to engine oil that would condition the inner surfaces of existing gasoline engine pistons so that an alternative liquid fuel can be used instead of gasoline."

"But what other liquid fuel exists that would be less polluting?" Cybersix asked, "Alcohol?"

Dr. Zack smiled, "How much pollution does a Fixed Idea leave behind? Nothing, the last time I looked."

"Sustenance?" she looked at him, incredulous, "Sustenance as fuel for CARS?"

"I have reason to believe that a race car in the Indianapolis 500 that ran on sustenance and never needed refueling would gain some attention."

_"Sustenance no closer than a gas station!"_ Her mind reeled at the thought,_ "Fill 'er up with 2 pints of sustenance, please. Thank you ma'am! See you next month."_ Aloud, she asked "But isn't sustenance an acid?" She remembered what Lucas had told Adrian about it. She had been so careful to drink every precious drop, that it would have seemed a dreadful waste to see what else it could do.

"Where'd you get that idea?" Dr. Zack looked at her quizzically.

"It burns holes in wood." she said.

Dr. Zacharias waved his hand, "That's an organic material. I had conjectured that some proteins and enzymes could release the excitated S shell electrons, while others would not. Thank for confirming it. But if it was an acid, why doesn't it eat through the metal end caps of the vials?"

"Oh. Right." she said. _"Ouch. Last time I'm going to listen to Lucas about sustenance!"_

"One thing I can say for sure right now about sustenance is that it is NOT a product of a chemical process. It doesn't come about by mixing secret ingredients X, Y, and Z." He said, getting up when the microwave started beeping.

"Why not?"

"Because chemical reactions only affect electrons in the outermost shell. The power of sustenance is coming from inner shell carbon electrons excitated enough to be pulled out to the outer shell, perhaps even taking part in chemical reactions." He piled a tray full of T-bone steaks, took it to the counter, set it down, and started looking for a meat knife, "No chemical reaction has enough energy to do that. It looks to me that sustenance is prepared beforehand, then charged somehow. It's the liquid equivalent of a rechargeable battery, only it can hold far more energy per gram." He found one and began to cut the bones out of the steaks.

"So you use your special cloth to get the energy to charge sustenance, then pipe it like oil to where it is needed." Cybersix got up to help the doctor. She took a knife, a steak, and began to cut, "Stop that Data 7!" she demanded, glancing behind her as Data 7 stropped himself against the back legs of both of them like a huge, black, hungry alley cat.

_"Well hurry up!"_ was what Data 7's look seemed to say, _"I'm still hungry!"_

"Exactly!" He nodded, "Ever since the first campfire started mankind along the upward path, we have been burning the leaves and stems of dead plants. Only now, the journey is becoming more and more dangerous, for every step we take along the path of fire is pouring more and more poisons into the very air we breathe. We must either stop far short of the goal, or die from the noxious fumes." He paused and looked at her, "But when I look at those vials of sustenance, I see another path that glows green, and which continues upwards through clear, pure air, to the door that opens into space." He shrugged, "It will be the task of another to unlock that door, so that mankind can continue along the upward path to the stars." He resumed cutting on the steaks, "We're going to have enough problems staying alive before we get there." he added laconically.

"Eloquent words and a magnificent dream, Doctor Zack." Cybersix said, strangely moved.

He chuckled, "Something to say at the banquet at Stockholm, if I ever survive long enough to get a Nobel prize for all this!"

She laughed, then picked up the tray of sliced meat, "Here brother!" she said cheerfully, setting it down beside the table and taking her seat again. Data 7 sniffed, and showed his approval by digging in heartily.

"Doctor, why haven't you revealed all this?" She asked him when he sat back down, "I mean, it would be a start, right? It would make you an incredibly wealthy man. Is the solution so difficult that no one else on the planet can understand it?"

"Oh no! The actual proof is only about 3 pages of equations and a few constants that represent the materials required. Sustenance would probably add another page and a few more constants. I think a second year PhD student in physics could grasp the concept with some effort. The nanofactories are already constructed and waiting to be used."

"So what is your reason for keeping quiet?"

He thought a moment, "I sure would like to be filthy rich! Who wouldn't? But this scheme threatens the wealth of others with fewer scruples than I posess." He looked at her, "I have evidence, somewhat circumstantial I'll grant, that leads me to suspect that some have already died proposing less revolutionary solutions to this very same problem."

_"Oh!" _she thought, feeling a sudden chill, _"No wonder you live in a fortress!"_   



	8. Dr. Zack's Basement

Cybersix sipped at her decaf, wishing it was warmer. She sympathized with Dr. Zacharias, having an idea of what it felt like to be hunted. She glanced at him again, and noted the look in his eye that told her he knew what she was thinking. Embarassed, she turned her eyes to the counter tops strewn with 1000 note bills drying out. The denominations and number of bills worried her, "Tell me, Dr. Zacharias, where did you get all that money?" she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

he grinned, "I can understand your concern about their legality. I'm normally not this open, but I have a good feeling about you. My people feelings are rarely wrong, so I don't have any problems showing you my little basement operation. Would you like to have a look?"

"Can I come along?" Julian asked.

"Only if you promise not to tell anyone else." Cybersix spoke for Dr. Zack, "We don't want burglars trying to steal things from him." _"And if it's legal."_ she thought privately.

Dr. Zack got up, walked around Data 7, and led the way through a corridor and down a staircase to the basement.

"WOW!" Julian gasped when Dr. Zack flicked the lights on.

The basement was immense, seeming to be larger than the townhouse itself. Pillars wrapped in cloth held up steel girders that provided the foundation for the two floor townhouse. Various sections were walled off with plywood or concrete blocks. Work benches, piled high with tools or half-bulit projects, were scattered about the place. Several computers were in various areas of the basement, the displays active with screen savers.

"A handyman's heaven!" Cybersix remarked with a smile, "I wouldn't have thought that a theoretical scientist like yourself would get his hands dirty."

"Some of my colleagues are like that, but I have a practical side that yearns for self expression." he remarked with a smile. He led them past several benches holding projects in various stages of assembly, around the far corner, to a door leading into a rather long, sealed-off section in plywood. He flicked on a light, opened the door, and beckoned them inside.

Cybersix would have been hard pressed to describe the contents of the long, narrow room. Several computers were in it, and there was a long pole mounted along the wall with pistons attached to it. Smaller rods were welded to the pole and went into beakers full of cloudy white liquid. The beakers sat on devices that she recognized, from Lucas' chemistry lab, as being magnetic stirrers. A magnet could be dropped into the beaker, and the rotating magnetic field in the device would spin the magnet, making it an effective stirrer.

As she looked at the strange setup, there was a click, and the pole began to shake, agitating the rods in the beakers for a few seconds before stopping again.

Dr. Zack went to one beaker and pulled it out from under the rod. There was a small, wire mesh cage welded to the end of the rod. Dr. Zack used his thumb to flick the bottom of the cage out, and caught a small, silver half-ball in the palm of his hand, about twice the size of a BB or shotgun shell pellet. He rubbed at it with his fingers as he turned to show it to them, the silver coming off on his fingers as a dark colored pellet came into view. The light streaming through it cast a deep red spurt of color across his palm.

"A ruby?" Cybersix hazarded.

He nodded, "Synthetic, to be sure, but the computer agitates the cages and adds flaws to the crystalline structure to make it look real. The jewelers I've been selling them to can't tell the difference between synthetics created in this manner and the real thing."

"How do you do it?" she asked, holding out her hand when he motioned for her to do so. He dropped it onto her palm, and she poked at it with her finger.

"Rubies are really special forms of Aluminum Oxide, which comes in several forms. A different form creates sapphires, but the most common form is corundum, which is used as an abrasive because it is second only to diamonds in hardness. It comes ground up in very fine powders, which I add to the beakers. I add one kind of nanite, which tears up the powder into an atomic suspension. I then heat the suspension to destroy the nanites. I then crush a cheap ruby, dip the pieces into a bath of a second type of nanite, and dump those into the beakers. This second kind of nanite hooks to the ruby crystal structure and runs along it like a train on rails, picking the aluminum oxide molecules out of the suspension and forcing them into the crystalline structure, and simultaneously moving the nanite forward. A rotating magnetic field supplies the power to the nanite, as well as keeping the aluminum oxide from coming out of solution. Of course, there are billions of these nanites. I happen to specialize in creating nanite factories that can produce them in abundance."

She passed the ruby to Julian, "But why rubies? Aren't diamonds more valuable?"

He visibly shuddered, "There are several problems with diamonds. Firstly, they really aren't as valuable as rubies, since there are more diamond mines than ruby mines. Secondly, there is a cartel that is interested in maintaining the artificially high prices, and would start inquiries if unusually fine stones started turning up that they didn't account for. I have an aversion to cartels interested in maintaining artificially high market prices, if you haven't noticed."

"I've noticed." she remarked dryly, reaching down and sqeezing Julian's shoulder when he put his hand into his pocket. The one holding the ruby, that is. He made a face and pulled it out again and handed it back to Dr. Zack.

Dr. Zack chuckled, then dropped the pellet into a tray filled with a silvery looking liquid, "But those problems are minor compared to the major problem with making diamonds using nanites."

"Which is?" Cybersix prompted him.

"What are diamonds made of?"

"Carbon. Crystalized carbon."

"Right. And what are we made of?"

"Carbon." She blinked, "oh dear." she breathed, a bit shocked.

He nodded "If the nanites got out, they would attack carbon based life forms, tearing the cells apart and slowly turning them into diamonds. This-" he indicated the tray before fishing out the ruby with his fingers, "acts on aluminum oxide only, and nothing else, so it is perfectly safe, as you can see." he held up his silver-tipped fingers to show them, then placed the ruby back into its cage.

She shuddered, remembering her thoughts about machines crawling in between her body cells when she first talked to Lucas about Dr. Zack.

There was a scratching at the door. She opened the door, and a frustrated looking Data 7 looked up at her, "Are you done, brother?" she asked him.

"Mmmmrrrr!" he rumbled pleasantly. There was a definite bulge about his midsection.

She grinned at him, "Are you too stuffed to go hunting for another of Von Richter's creations?"

"What?" Dr. Zacharias asked her, "Who was that again?"

"Von Richter. The man who created us."

"I've heard that name someplace before." He thought for a moment, frowning from obvious irritation at being unable to recall the memory, "It'll probably come to me eventually."

"Oh WOW!"

Both adult's heads jerked toward the sound. Julian had run up to a table next to the wall to their right. An electric train sat on the table, obviously the magnet that had drawn Julian's attention. Both smiled as they joined Julian, who was rolling it forwards and backwards on the track.

"Does it work?" he asked, looking up at Dr. Zack.

He nodded, reached over, and twisted a dial. The train took off, rounding the curve at the head of the table, and then down along a trestle about 14 meters long that ran along the long side of the basement. It went behind a bale of hay at the far end, then came back. Cybersix noticed that there was a fake wall, made of cinder blocks, set about 2 meters away from the real wall, and next to which the train was now running, coming back to them. Also, the far end of the room was stacked from bottom to top with bales of hay.

Dr. Zack twisted the dial, making the train came to a halt in front of them.

"Not very exciting, is it?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah. Kinda just goes and comes around in a big circle." Julian commented, petting Data-7's head.

"What's it for?" Cybersix asked, noticing the wooden blocks screwed into the two flatcars behind the train. There were narrow slots cut deeply into them.

Dr. Zack reached under the table and came up with a handful of what looked like wooden tounge depressors, only longer. He pushed five into the five slots, so that they stood straight up. He then twisted the dial, making the train run down to the far end of the corridor, making it stop behind the bale of hay. The five tounge depressors rouse up from behind the bale of hay by about 20 centimeters. There was a whirring sound from something behind the bale of hay, and the tounge depressors wriggled a little.

Cybersix turned to Dr. Zack, wondering what was going on when she saw him unbutton his sweater, reach inside, and pull out a pistol with a long, narrow barrel and a long handle. He flicked the safety off and aimed.

POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!

The top two centimeters of each tounge depressor flew into pieces, one after another. He flicked the safety back on.

"Ohhh man!" Julian gasped, "All five!"

"Dr. Zacharias!" Cybersix marvelled, "Where on earth did you learn to shoot like that?"

"Lots and lots of practice." He chuckled and motioned to the shelf running along the wall bearing several trophies.

"Is that an Olympic trophy?" Cybersix asked, "The one in the center?"

Dr. Zack uncharacteristically scowled, "Yes. Olympic trials two years ago. I came in sixth."

She looked at him quizzically, and somewhat expectantly.

He noticed, then added, "I think I could have won the Olympic berth. It seems that while we were on lunch break, someone sneaked into the firing range and turned the setscrews on the handle. I missed a few times before I compensated. Didn't notice the screw turned out more than normal until I got home."

"That's awful!" Julian frowned, while Cybersix merely sighed in sympathy.

"Want to try it, Julian?" Dr. Zack suddenly asked, turning to the table. He pushed a button, then twisting the dial.

"Sure!" Julian said excitedly. The train came back to their end of the room. Dr. Zack replaced the tounge depressors and returned the train to the far end of the room. He then carefully put the gun into Julian's hand, flicked the safety off, and helped him as he fired the gun about 10 times, nicking one of the depressors, "Whew! It's as hard as it looks! Your turn now, Cybersix!"

"My turn?" Cybersix grimaced, blinking, "Uhhhh!"

"Yeah! You should try it!" Julian urged her, "I'd like to see how you'd do! C'mon!"

"I-ahhh." She started, swaying as Data 7 bumped his head against her right thigh, "Data 7! Please!" she batted at him.

Dr. Zack noted her discomfort, "It's a modified 22 caliber Olympic shooting pistol, with solid tips. Intended for competition and small game." He shrugged, "Can't hurt anything in here with the bales of hay, and the bullets will ricochet into the bales."

"Yeah, and ya' probably can't even hit them either!" Julian snickered.

Momentarily stung, Cybersix took the gun, hefted it for a second, then took the same stance as Dr. Zack. Her thumb found the safety and flicked it off.

POW!

About 15 centimeters of the leftmost tounge depressor flew, spinning, into the air. It came down quickly in a wide arc.

POW!

It split into two wildly spinning pieces that fell to the ground.

POW! POW!

Dr. Zack gaped, speechless, not believing his eyes as splinters exploded in the middle of the shooting gallery..

POW! POW!

POW! POW!

"Wow!" Julian gasped as the pile of splinters in the middle of the room grew.

POW! POW!

Cybersix put the gun down on the table, turned, and wiped at her eyes quickly, _"God! I don't want to even TOUCH one of those things ever again!" _She thought, _"Forgive me, Papa!"_

"DATA 7! Did you see that!??" Julian gasped.

Dr. Zack picked up the gun, flicked the safety off, then pulled the clip out, replacing it with a fresh one holding 40 rounds. He then replaced it into the holster he wore under the sweater, "That has got to be the most impressive shooting I have ever seen, young lady! Where did YOU learn how to do that?" He asked her.

She rubbed her hand against the leather of her thigh, as if trying to rub pine tar off of her palms. And looking as if she was not succeeding, "ummm. First time." she mumbled. She turned to Data 7, "Ready to hunt, brother?"

"Hunt?" Dr. Zack asked, "Hunt what?"

"I heard this loud, roaring sound and went to investigate, but didn't find anything or anybody that would account for it. I did find your old boss, Julian."

"Manny?" Julian perked up and began to look nervous, "He tried to steal Dr. Zack's money from him. I hope he doesn't try to get me to steal wallets again!"

"No. He won't." she assured him confidently, glad to have diverted everyone's attention away from her display of shooting skills. _"I probably should have missed a few,"_ she thought, _"But papa always said never to hold back, but always do the best you could."_

"He won't?"

"I had a-nice-talk with him. He won't." she repeated to him. She turned to Dr. Zack as he closed the door, "Thanks for the meal and coffee, Dr. Zack, but we'll have to leave now and find out what Von Richter has cooked up for me."

"Oh! No need to worry about that, my dear Cybersix! I made that loud noise to chase Manny and his band away."

"You did?" she looked at him skeptically, "But how-"

He smiled, "An interesting side effect of my subatomic vision. It's a form of telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the mind, and acts like an atomic force microscope, capable of moving atoms as well as examining them. I use it to build my nano-factories. It turns out that space just happens to be granular and quantized, just like matter. At a small enough scale, my ability can open up holes in space."

The look on Cybersix's face made him realize he had better demonstrate. He turned to look across the room and concentrated.

Cybersix blinked when there was a ripple in the middle of the air, as if it was water, and someone had touched the surface with their finger. The ripple widened, and she saw tjhe surface of a workbench through a hole that grew to 20 centimeters in diameter. Gingerly, Dr. Zack reached through it and picked up an iron wrench with a yellow plastic handle cover lying on the workbench. He rapped the table with it. Their heads jerked to the sound of rapping across the room, and gasped at the disembodied hand that floated above a workbench, holding a wrench!

"Oh WOW!" Julian gasped, "That is COOL!"

Dr. Zack carefully pulled the wrench through the hole and showed it to Cybersix.

She shook her head, "I think I've had enough amazing revelations for today. I'm going to bed!"

"Woah! No!" Dr. Zack grabbed Julian's wrist and pulled it away from the edge of the hole he was about to touch, "That is the sharpest thing on earth right now, Julian!"

"Really?" Julian asked.

Dr. Zack nodded. He gripped the wrench at the base of the handle, poked it halfway through the hole, and swept it to one side, contacting the edge. There was a bright flash of light, brighter than a camera flash bulb. It made them all blink for a few seconds. The clatter of something metallic hitting the floor came from the other side of the room.

The edges of the hole seemed to ripple, then it disappeared in an instant.

"Are you okay, Dr. Zack?" Cybersix asked, noticing that the old man had pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That was the third time I did that today, and that's my limit." he admitted, "It uses a lot of blood sugar, and always gives me headaches, although they are getting less worse the more I do it."

"What was that flash of light?" she asked. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of burnt plastic, "And what's that smell?"

"Umm? Oh. The light came from iron atoms being cut in half when they hit the edge of the hole." he held up the wrench handle and pointed at the bubbling, melted centimeter of yellow plastic at the end. "The plastic got melted from the heat generated from atomic fission." he said. He smiled sheepishly, "I wouldn't do it with a rod of uranium 235 for all the tea in China."

"I'll take your word for that." she said decidedly, then pointed out, "But there was no noise."

"That's because I went across the room. The hole I opened up earlier had the other end about 100 kilometers straight up. No air up there, so the air down here rushed out through the hole because of the difference in air pressure." he smiled, leading them back around the room, "Sounds like a jet engine starting up."

"More like a hundred!" Julian said expressively. He blinked, "That hole in my boat! It appeared in mid air and shot water out of it! That was YOU!"

"Guilty!" Dr. Zack grinned, leading the way out of the basement, "I was just outside your porthole, off to one side. I had the other end about 10 meters below the waterline. I'm fairly accurate up to 20 meters."

"I'm definitely calling it a night." Cybersix said, "Thanks for everything, Dr. Zack. I'll walk Julian back to his house boat."

"It would still be pretty damp wouldn't it?" Dr. Zack asked. He walked over to the counter and picked a 1000 bill off the counter top, "This ought to put him up in a hotel for a couple of nights until his bed dries off."

"Dr. Zacharias..." Cybersix started.

"THIS," Dr. Zack stated stiffly, "is between Julian and me! Here, boy. Just for today, and only because I soaked your residence." He held the bill out.

"Gee! Thanks!" Julian accepted it gratefully.

"You'll have some left over, so I advise you use it wisely to find a more honest means of living." Dr. Zack stated firmly, "I normally don't abide thieves, but since you're a friend of Cybersix's, I'll overlook you taking advantage of my situation this time."

"Yes sir." Julian said meekly. He had some ideas, and needed time to practice.

"Good night Dr. Zacharias." Cybersix nodded as she shepherded her brother and Julian toward the front door.

"Good night. Stay on the walk, unless you want a hole in your shoes." Dr. Zack warned them as he let them out into the night.   
-----------------------   
"Well, this has been some night!" Cybersix said to Data 7, "I think you ended up enjoying it, didn't you?"

_"Well, of course!"_ Data 7 seemed to indicate by licking his chops and belching.

Cybersix gave a short chuckle as she pulled the zipper down of her catsuit. The flap that held the vial of sustenance she had recovered the day before flapped against her collarbone. She had forgotten to put away with the rest of her frighteningly small stash in the box under her bed. She pulled it out of the little pouch she had sewn into the top.

Its green glow filled the dark room.

She looked at it for a few moments, then walked to the window and gazed up at the few stars that were able to shine through the backglow of the city lights.

_"I see another path that glows green, and which continues upwards through clear, pure air, to the door that opens into space."_

"Yes," she murmured to herself, "It was a good night."

She put the vial with the other two that were in the box under her bed. She grabbed the edges of her top to strip it off her shoulders when she noticed Data 7 regarding her with an odd, expectant look.

"YOU TURN AROUND!" she laughed, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him.   



	9. Decidedly Odd

Dr. Zacharias, chapter ???? This takes place two weeks after "Brainwashed."   
-------------   
"Attention everyone. We are now approaching Meridiana International Airport. Please shut off all electronic devices, raise your trays, and adjust your seats to their upright position..." 

Dr. Anthony Zacharias adjusted his First Class seat and put the tray away into the padded arm. He took one glance at the papers he held in his hand before sighing and stuffing them into his briefcase, which he then shoved under the seat in front of him with a touch more force than necessary. He looked out the window at the view of Meridiana, spread out below him, surrounded by green mountains and framed by the blue sparkling ocean. He picked out the Angel, then Meridiana High School, then his townhouse. 

It was hard to believe that a place so peaceful and sleepy looking, a mandatory stop on the itinerary of luxury cruise ships, had become a battleground. Although no one talked about it openly, one could tell from the newspaper and television reports that something unsettling was working its way into the city. 

The image of Cybersix, sitting in the chair across from him in his library, sipping at fruit tea and attempting to understand the intricacies of Quantum Mechanics, came unbidden to his mind's eye. He regretted telling that brave woman that he had made little progress in discovering the means of duplicating sustenance during her last two visits. 

He had hoped that this trip to a largish Quantum Mechanics conference at Princeton would bear fruit. Or at least plant some seeds. He had presented two papers. The first was one that he had been writing when he met Cybersix: It had been received very well. The second was a more speculative one, broaching the subject of whether the Pauli Exclusion Principle had any foundation in reality. The reception of that paper by the attendees was, to put it mildly, unenthusiastic. They saw no reason to question one of the central pillars of Quantum Mechanics without experimental evidence demonstrating otherwise. Naturally, the younger scientists and the graduate students took the speculation in better stride, but the mathematics proved as intractable to them as it was to him. He went away with almost everyone wanting to explore the implications of his first paper, but no serious takers for the second. 

_"Can't blame them, I suppose. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't seen the violation with my own eyes."_ he thought charitably. He was only mildly irritated that he would have to take precious time from sustenance research to address their questions and speculations on QuaNet. Not that he could blame them about that either: He had been excited about the implications of his first paper too, until the even more intriguing puzzle of the green liquid in the vials had presented itself. 

_"Well, I'll just have to work on the problem by myself,"_ he concluded as the jet shuddered from its landing on the tarmac of Meridiana International. He regretted that, for so much progress was made sharing information, thoughts, and flashes of insight with his fellow researchers. He'd miss working with Jones, Taylor, and especially Tsing, on this particular problem. 

And a damned peculiar problem it was indeed. The most likely equations that would apply worked themselves out into an infinite series. Except, with infinite series, the value normally was either infinity or some fixed number This infinite series OSCILLATED. The value rose and fell, depending on how many terms you used in computing the value, instead of settling toward a particular number or shooting off into infinity. Damnedest thing he'd ever come across. So much so, that he had written his discovery up and had sent it to a mathematics journal as a letter in the hope that someone could make sense of it. 

Instead, it got turned into a short paper that would be published next week, and the reviewers were raving about it to their colleagues, saying it was the most likely mathematical discovery to not have any real-world applications. _"Boy, if they only knew."_ he thought bemusedly. 

He looked out the window as the jet taxied by some air shipping storage warehouses. 

Suddenly, something caught his eye. He looked closely at some rather large men moving crates. 

He saw the face of one. 

_"A fixed idea! What are a bunch of them doing here at the airport?"_ he thought 

He gritted his teeth in frustration: he had had to put his knife into his baggage, and didn't want to be caught sneaking around with it by the airport police. Everyone was still antsy about the disappearance of the police chief and the detectives walking about town in electronic headgear demanding information about Cybersix. Well, he'd just have to run away if confronted.   
-------------   
Dr. Zacharias retrieved his luggage and stuffed it into some secure lockers. He then walked out the airport and along the exit road to the access road to the air freight section of the airport. He had debated, and rejected, using the wave suit: It was still daylight, so wearing it would make him stick out like a sore thumb. He was dressed in a suit, so he'd just make like a salesman or a mis-directed business customer. 

After verifying the warehouse number, Dr. Zack walked around it. The truck the Fixed Ideas had been loading with crates had left, and there seemed to be no sign of the Fixed Ideas. He jiggled the handle on the office door, but it was locked. 

After glancing around and seeing no one, Dr. Zack quickly opened a hole through space and unlocked the door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He listened for a few moments, then went to the desk and looked through the drawers. Nothing. Nothing in the filing cabinets either. 

He went to the other door in the office, opened it, and looked inside the main warehouse. It was a maze of wooden crates stacked on top of each other. Glancing one way, then the other, he turned right and walked slowly and as quietly as he could manage. He paused to use his submolecular vision to punch through the wooden crates to see what was inside. Metal, and complex chemical compounds he'd never seen before. He'd never tried to scan explosives, so he concluded that they contained munitions. 

He kept going, stopping occasionally to scan a crate and finding either blocks of metal (weapons?) or electronics gear. He finally worked his way through the maze into the relatively open center. A stack of short crates about 10 high was off to the side. He walked up to the stack and punched through. 

Green "wind" blew into his subatomic vision. 

Sustenance! An eyeball estimate told Dr. Zack there might be over 500 vials in that stack alone. 

He debated taking a crate, but decided against weighing himself down. He'd report this to Cybersix, and she could come and get the stuff herself. If they split it 90/10, then he'd have more than enough to experiment with directly. 

Feeling very pleased with himself, he turned and tried to backtrack back out. He quickly got lost in the maze, so he paused to figure out how to find the exit door before the Fixed Ideas came back. 

**"Pardon me, sir!"**

Dr. Zack nearly jumped out of his skin at the deep, resonant voice. He whirled around to find himself staring at a Fixed Idea. 

The Fixed Idea raised an eyebrow, **"Sorry to startle you, sir, but what are you doing here?"**

Dr. Zack quickly recovered, "I'm the airport fire inspector, looking for violations." _"Which should explain how I got in."_ he thought. Aloud, he said, "I am seriously concerned about the layout of the shipping crates and storage patterns in this warehouse!" 

The Fixed Idea frowned, then glanced around at the stacks. 

"Isn't it obvious? If you had someone working within these stacks, and a fire broke out, how could they possibly excape?" 

The Fixed Idea opened its mouth, closed it, thought a moment, then looked worried, **"I do believe that you are right, sir. Will we be getting a citation?"**

_"Hmm. A smart one. Fixed Ideas can jump over the crates, but humans can't."_ Dr. Zack thought. "Ohh, not this time. Just a verbal warning. If I wrote something down, I'd have to account for it, and that'd be a bother. Besides, you ought to be able to get into compliance easily enough. Just arrange everything like a city street map, with the streets being the paths between the stacks, which are the city blocks." 

**"Straight lines all the way through?"** he asked him. 

"Correct." 

**"Thank you sir, for your expert advice, and also for not citing us."**

"Of course, to make that non-citation stick, you'd better not mention that I was here, okay?" 

**"I won't breathe a word to anyone."** the Fixed Idea promised, **"Let me show you out."**

Dr. Zack both marvelled and worried as he followed. A smart Fixed Idea would prove to be a difficult opponent for Cybersix. At the same time, this one was extremely civil, polite, and rather charming. And that voice! So compelling! Dr. Zack was sure he'd never forget it. 

**"Here you are. Have a nice day, sir!"** The Fixed idea said as he opened the outside door for him. 

"Thank you!" 

Dr. Zack barely got around the corner when a truck skidded up on the other side. He pressed himself against the building to listen. 

"OPEN UP!" a young voice howled. 

Dr. Zack grinned. No forgetting THAT voice! He pictured Jose running away in terror in the museum, sans the Axe. 

"WAS ANYONE HERE?" Jose demanded. 

"Uhhh, no one, sir!" 

_"Wha-? Now this IS a puzzle!!!"_ he thought, _"Why would that Fixed Idea pretend he wasn't smart? Unless-"_

He ran away from the building, through some landscaping, and went along the fence that ran alongside the access road until he got back to the terminal. He retrieved his luggage, got a porter, and went to get a taxi. Preferably a fast one. 

It would be good to report something interesting for a change to Cybersix!   
----------------------   
"Careful Data-7!" Cybersix whispered to her brother, putting an arm around him and pulling his warm, furry body to her side. 

He nodded, letting out a short rumble from his throat that vibrated through his body into hers. 

She bit her lip, regretting for maybe the 100th time her inability to communicate clearly with Data-7, _"One day."_ she vowed. 

She looked at the warehouse and verified the number. She had long suspected that Von Richter had agents in other countries, but wondered how they were supplied with sustenance. She smiled a bit lopsidedly: Ship it to them, of course! The jump from the need to ship something to the need for a place to store the stuff during transfers was a very short one, and she berated herself for not thinking of it earlier. 

She leaped onto the warehouse roof lightly. Data-7 followed her. They padded softly to the roof access hatch, opened it easily, and slipped inside. 

They ran silently along the girders to the center. Looking down, Cybersix counted 6 Fixed Ideas in various attitudes of repose. Her eyes searched for the stack of short crates Dr. Zack had mentioned, but she didn't see it. He DID admit to being a bit disoriented, and from the looks of the maze of crates, she didn't blame him for being a bit confused by the layout. Hopefully, the stuff wouldn't get destroyed in the fight that she was about to start. It would be a difficult one, given the number of opponents. Luckily, they had the element of surprise which, when fixed ideas are involved, would neatly even things out. 

"Go for the ones in the striped shirts." She whispered to Data 7, "Not the ones in solids, as Dr. Zack said." They'd sort it out in the heat of battle. 

Data 7 didn't say anything, but padded softly onto a different girder to get into position. 

They descended like two shadows of death, striking. Two flares of green light signalled their presence to the others, who leaped to their feet and began scrambling for weapons. 

One tried attacking Cybersix, swinging wildly as she easily dodged him, _"Not him."_ She thought, grabbing him by the shirt, yanking, and throwing him over her shoulder into a stack of crates. The top two crates fell on him. She shot a glance across the clear center and saw Data 7 clawing at one on the ground, "DATA 7!" she shouted, leaping, when she saw a Fixed Idea sneaking up behind him with a crowbar. 

Her foot hit the base of his neck, her highheel penetrating and crushing the neck bones, _"Not you either."_ she thought, flipping and watching it vanish in a puff of green light. 

"Raaaaahhhhh!" This came from Cybersix's left. She glanced that way, and saw four Fixed Ideas pour into the central clearing to their left. 

"Raaaahhhhhh!" She shot a glance over to her right. FIVE Fixed Ideas! 

Nine was NOT her lucky number! 

"RRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!" 

"Uh oh!" She muttered, glancing straight ahead to see a Fixed Idea emerge from the stacks and lifting a quad grenade launcher to his shoulder, "A bit too much for us, Data 7!" She said to him, tensing, getting ready to leap. 

The fixed idea with the grenade launcher stumbled and fired wildly. 

Two gas grenades exploded to her right and to her left. 

"Dooohhhhh!" he moaned, watching as his companions fell to the ground, knocked out by the sleepy gas. 

"Well! That was convenient!" She replied brightly, "I shouldn't punch your lights out, I suppose, in gratitude!" 

The Fixed Idea suddenly grinned, straightened, and pointed the grenade launcher toward the cieling, holding it behind his back easily with one hand, **"My! The young bud I knew has become a beautiful rose indeed."**

Her mouth dropped open. After all these years... "FI-4?" she asked, shaking and almost unbelieving. 

In a slow, graceful movement, so totally unlike the Fixed Ideas she had known, Fixed Idea-4 carefully laid the grenade launcher on the ground, **"Cybersix."** he replied, smiling. He turned his head slightly, **"Data 7. Or should I say, Cyber 29? Nice to see you again."**

"You knew?" Cybersix asked him, after throwing a glance at Data 7, who had huffed back a greeting.. 

He made a face, **"Not until long after you left. Von Richter left his notes out on his desk one day, and I was able to sneak a look at them."** He looked at Data 7, **"The other Datas were failures, so why was number 7 a success? Because he had a Cyber brain, of course."** he shrugged, **"Von Richter still judges all his creations by how well they stack up against the Cybers. In death, they still haunt him."**

She walked up to him, "After all these years. Now I know you're alive, my friend!" 

The massive arms wrapped gently around her as she leaned in and gave him a hug. The few but happy memories of them playing alone in the jungle, he so large and she so small, flooded back. 

**"I suppose you came for the sustenance, right?"** he asked, patting her on the back. 

"Yes." she replied, marvelling at the flood of memories that came up unbidden from where she had hidden them. 

He looked sorrowful, **"It was shipped out this afternoon. We only have about a quarter of a crate in the back office," **He waved behind her, **"Mostly for the workers. It's in the refrigerator."** He looked around worriedly, **"Better get going before everyone revives!"**

"Thank you." she said expressively, smiling up at him, "I'll get it and be on my way." 

He coughed politely after she turned and took a few steps toward the back office, "What?" she asked, glancing back. 

**"You need to knock me out."**

"WHAT?" the request shocked her. "I-I-can't do THAT!" she stammered. 

**"They'll suspect something if I'm still awake and unscratched when they come around."** he pointed out. 

Cybersix stood stone still, her thoughts fighting in her head like two alley cats. He was right, of course, but what he was asking was too unpleasant and her friends were so few... 

FI-4's eyes went to Data 7. The panther looked at him and bobbed his head slightly. The Fixed Idea nodded back. 

Before Cybersix could say anything, Data 7 leaped and knocked him off his feet and into a stack of crates, which fell down on top of him. 

"NO!" She ran up to the pile of crates and began lifting them and tossing them aside. 

He lay unconscious under the pile. She put her hand on his leg, feeling, making sure he hadn't vanished in green light. 

"Goodbye, my friend." She murmured softly, patting his leg, "I hope to see you again."   
--------------------------   
"Twenty three! Not a bad haul for a night's work!" Dr. Zack remarked, gloating over the case of glowing vials, "Did you meet that intelligent fixed idea?" 

"Yes. He was-is-a friend of mine!" Cybersix said. She sounded like someone who had won the lottery twice in a row. 

"His voice is something else! Sort of reminds me of James Earl Jones, but that big chest of his makes his voice even deeper." Dr. Zack looked at the vials again, "I'll take three for experimentation, and you can have the rest." 

"Ummm, no. Let's split it fifty-fifty, but you keep it here for me. I'll come by if pickings are slim." 

"Okay, but do take one with you," Dr. Zack insisted. He felt that three vials was sufficient for his needs at the moment, and would reserve the rest for her. At the same time, he felt pleased and privileged to have earned her trust enough for her to rely on him to literally keep what amounted to her "life" savings secure for her. 

"Sounds good to me." she said, selecting one and slipping it into the little pouch in her leather top, "Thanks for the tip, Dr. Zack. We got ourselves a good supply of sustenance, and I hooked back up with an old friend of mine. This was a good night." 

"Indeed it was, Cybersix. Good night!" 

"Good night! Coming with me, Data 7?" 

Data 7 looked at the door leading out of the library. 

"Staying for supper? Don't eat so much, that you can't jump over his electrified wall!" she taunted him playfully as she stepped onto the window sill. 

He snorted. 

The next moment, she was gone. 

Dr. Zack closed and locked the window, marvelling, as he usually did, at that woman's speed, "Let's get down to the kitchen. I feel a headache coming on, and I have a yen for a Snickers bar." he told Data 7.   
--------------------------   
The following occurs one week after the above events.   
--------------------------   
Data 7 awoke from his nap. He stretched himself on the bed in the abandoned subway room, rear and tail high in the air, front paws extended forward, mouth opening wide in a long, lolling yawn that showed a large pink tounge and long rows of sharp, yellow teeth. 

_"Ahhh! Another day! Another night with Six."_ he thought idly, his spirits rising at the thought of being with Cybersix that night, _"I shall stop by the Townhouse and see what the good Doctor Zacharias has on the menu for tonight."_

He leaped off the bed and walked out of the room. After listening carefully and mentally noting the location of all the trains within a kilometer from the sounds that came down the tunnel, he turned and ran down to a ventilation shaft. 

For the longest time, he had lived as if he had his in a cloud, clearing only when a fight was expected. Data 7 liked having a clear head, and so fought a lot during the training Von Richter had laid out, rising to the top of the Data Series, then of all the Specials. He had fought with one particularly impressive Special to earn the right to eliminate Cybersix. It had been an extremely exhausting fight that had been his first real challenge in a year, so his head had been especially clear when he had noted the photo of him and Cybersix as children. 

Ever since, his head had been out of that cloud, as if the blanking of the past had been like a black velvet mask with no holes to look out through to clearly see the world. But once the mask was gone, rapidly remembered more and more, with the most pleasant and happy memories being those of his time with Cybersix before his accident. 

_"Is it possible for a man to go mad because he is unable to say 'I love you'?"_ he wondered as he slipped out of the subway system and took to the roofs. 

He arrived at the Townhouse and slipped into what looked like a drainage tunnel. At a red light in the tunnel, he gazed into a light sensor, disabling the security system for several seconds. He then dashed through the now de-electrified portion to an automatic door. Another light sensor attuned to the unique glow coming from his eyes activated the motor that opened the door into a small storeroom on the first floor. He shoved the door open with his head and padded around to the kitchen. 

Suddenly, a muffled explosion made the floor shake. Something burst up through the floor a meter to his right and shot through the cieling, creating matching holes. Data 7 leaped up a meter and came down in a fighting stance. 

_"Ahhh! Something is wrong downstairs! Not up here, silly!"_ he thought to himself as he made a dash to the stairway that led down to the basement. 

The entire basement was full of swirling dust clouds. Out of the clouds came a man dressed in (now dust brown) thermal underwear. 

"Hmm. Perhaps I should water down the concentration another order of magnitude?" He muttered to himself. He threw a glance over his shoulder at the destruction behind him, "Maybe two orders to be safe." He caught sight of Data 7, "Oh, hi Data 7! You caught me in the middle of an experiment." 

_"What on earth happened here, Doctor?"_ Data 7 looked at him, hoping the thought would translate into a sufficiently puzzled look on his face to convey his thoughts. 

It worked, "Oh, ah, I was trying to run a lawnmower engine on sustenance." 

_"Sustenance does THAT?"_ Data 7 glanced at the demolished workbench that was becoming visible through the rapidly settling dust clouds, _"And my sister DRINKS it?"_

"Impressive, isn't it?" he enthused as he led the way out of the basement, "This is great-Oh WOW!" he gasped when he entered the kitchen and saw the hole in the floor. He noted the one in the cieling and craned his neck to look through it, "All the way through the roof! That is just WONDERFUL!" 

_"I suppose so, if you're into blowing things up. Probably not if you were intending to mow the lawn instead."_ Data 7 thought, _"Oh, by the way, feed me."_   



	10. Bloodlines

az_10 "You sure you'll be okay?" Dr. Anthony Zacharias asked Lucas Amato as he changed out a stack of papers and magazines in his briefcase, "I know James can do the math classes, but you sure you'll be okay with Physics A?" 

"Heyyy! Don't worry Tony!" Lucas assured him, "They're the same students, right? I can handle them in Physics as well as I do in Biology!" 

"That's what I'm afraid of!" 

"OW! I walked into that one!" Lucas laughed, "I'm doing the heat and energy unit, right? 

"Yes, I've ordered several tanks of liquid nitrogen for the class." 

"Really? That'll make it interesting! Where are they?" 

Dr. Zack grabbed a case off of his desk, "I'll show you the locker. Follow me." 

The two teachers went into the physics lab. Dr. Zack went to the back of the classroom and opened a locker. There were three tall cylinders that looked more like compressed gas cylinders than Dewar flasks. 

Lucas frowned, "Those aren't the kind I used to see at college." 

Dr. Zack began removing a strange looking camera from the case, "Remember that shipment of biological specimens you ordered for dissection last month?" 

"How can I forget? Half the bottles were smashed. I still wonder if the delivery person was late for an appointment and just shoved the package out the back door without stopping! Formaldehyde all over the place! It was awful!" 

"I didn't want to take a chance with this stuff, so I ordered that it be delivered using a new, high safety, high impact version that uses a special insulating material instead of a vaccuum." Dr. Zack began taking pictures of the cylinders, 

"What's that?" 

"A thermal imaging camera. The head of research for the company developing that tank was an old classmate of mine. When I told what happened to your delivery, he sent it along and asked me to use it to record some thermal data for him as a favor. See?" He pointed at several dark spots near the middle of the cylinders, "Cold spots. The stuff's good, but not perfect." 

"I've heard of cameras like that." Lucas took the camera and looked at Dr. Zack through it. The man was turned into a rainbow of colors, "Neat. The brigher it is, the warmer, right?" he asked, noting the scale off to the side that mapped color to temperature. 

"Right. My extremities are darker colors or black, right?" 

"Right." Lucas returned the camera to Dr. Zack, who pointed it at Lucas to take a reference shot. 

"HI guys!" Adrian poked his head into the lab, then walked in, "What's up?" 

"Dr. Zack's entrusting his physics class to me while he's away, good buddy." Lucas explained. 

"Is that safe?" Adrian asked intently. 

"Verrry funnny!" 

Dr. Zack's smile of amusement turned into a frown as he noted the LCD display. He punched some buttons and clicked a few shots in an attempt to recalibrate it. 

"Oh? Another conference?" Adrian asked. 

"No. This time it's a family reunion during my Granmama's 95th birthday." Dr. Zack scowled at the camera as he shut it off. He pulled the floppy disk out of the camera and pocketed it. "Tilman was kind enough to understand she wouldn't be in this world long, so he let me go for the next five days. We've got relatives coming in from Germany, and I've got to translate." 

"Mmmm! Nice to have family." Adrian remarked with a touch of sadness, "Where is it?" 

"Caracas." 

The bell rang. 

"Uh oh! Better get to class!" Adrian glanced at his watch as he turned toward the door. 

"One more class, then that's it for today!" Lucas said brightly as he followed Adrian out of the room, "Eating with me again today, Adrian?" 

"Wouldn't miss it!" Adrian tossed his reply over his shoulder, "My treat!" 

"Finally!" 

"I would have sworn this thing was working right!" Dr. Zack muttered as he put the camera back into its case, "I guess it should have been packed better. Hope Jack doesn't get in trouble. These things cost a fortune."   
---------------------------   
"Tony, are you SURE you'll be okay in that hotel room?" 

"I'm fine, Tia Teresa!" Dr. Zack took another sweetroll from the tray his Aunt Teresa had shoved into his face, "I'm not that far away! I don't walk as far as I would at work!" 

"A High school teacher's salary is rotten! You should never have quit that research job at that Earl place. THAT paid good money, didn't it?" 

"I make ends meet with my papers and wild projects." he insisted, biting into the sweetroll. He rolled his eyes and sighed, waving it, "Divine as always, Tia!" he kissed her cheek and moved on through the crowded livingroom, hoping the subject wouldn't come up again. 

The Zacharias side of the family was a small one, but the Banderas side, his mother's side, was just immense. The place was wall to wall aunts, uncles, and cousins, most of whom had to travel to be here. His sister's place looked like a garrison at night, and he was loath to sleep on the floor or on a couch, for fear of rolling over on top of a pre-teen relative. 

Circling around the group of noisy alpha males gathered around the television set watching a soccer game, he made his way to the back patio where his granmama Carmen preferred to sit, hoping for a chance to speak to her. His father was not up to travelling, and so his mother had stayed to tend him. It was up to him to represent his branch of the family, while his sister bravely hosted the event. 

Hello Greta!> He greeted the eldest Aunt of the Von Groven branch of the family. 

Tony!> Greta beckoned, and Dr. Zack bent down to kiss her cheek, Aunt Carmen is much too tired to translate for the kids!> she waved at the wide-eyed group of youngsters sitting around them. 

A niece yielded her seat to Dr. Zack and joined the crowd on the floor, Please do!> she said in passable German, I'm having trouble following along.> 

"Okay, I'll do my best." Dr. Zack said, finishing off the roll as he sat down, "What's so facinating?" 

"The genealogy of our family!" Granmama Carmen said excitedly, "Greta's done such a good job! Look!" 

Dr. Zack nodded, turning the pages of the genealogical chart. It was not only a deep one, going back generations, but was incredibly broad as well. It was even color coded to trace the major branches. It was unusual for emigres like his ancestors to continue to keep in touch with their European kin who had not elected to make their fortunes in the New World, but the family members on both sides of the Atlantic managed to keep in close touch. 

"Yes!" The niece, Carmelita, enthused, "Tia Greta's telling us about the crazies now!" 

Dr. Zack laughed, Did you tell them about Frederico and Gerard?> he asked Greta. 

Of course! The news of their craziness even made it back across the Atlantic!> Greta laughed. She turned the page and pointed out the two unfortunate cousins who had ended their lives in the luantic asylum as Dr. Zack translated. 

He idly traced their framily tree back and noted that the grandmother of both came from some family who had married into the Banderas family, and whose lineage was coded in light green. 

"Are there any pirates?" a cousin asked excitedly. 

"Or master criminals?" another added. 

Greta laughed when Dr. Zack translated the questions, Oh! no pirates or burglars! BUT-> 

"But WHAT?" they all chorused when Dr. Zack paused dramatically in the translation, shrugging at their question. 

We have a medical doctor!> 

The kids groaned at the translation, "A medical doctor?!?" 

Ah! But not JUST a medical doctor!> She said onimously, turning the pages, Here, this one.> she pointed to someone on a page where most of the lines were of that light green color he had noted. The name of the family was the Hofstrodens. Several cousins from the Von Grovens had brought them into the family tree. 

"Aren't you going to translate, Cousin Tony?" one asked, tugging on his pants cuff. 

"Ummm! Yes!" Dr. Zack said hastily, momentarily stunned at the name Greta was pointing at. 

It was quite the scandal! A good and noble family, one of whose sons became-> 

"Became what? Became what?" they asked excitedly as Dr. Zack stumbled over the translation, confused. 

A medical doctor! Who did research!> 

"Like Cousin Tony?" 

Yes! But MUCH WORSE!> 

"YEAHHH!" the loud shouts of the men around the television indicated that a goal had just been scored, but the kids ignored the racket. 

"How much worse? How Much worse?" they demanded excitedly. 

He was a medical doctor at a concentration camp during the reign of the NAZIS!> Greta said dramatically, Doing inhumane and nasty experiments on the poor Jewish prisoners!> 

"OHHHHH!" they all gasped. 

One leaned forward and looked at the name of the infamous one, "Josef Maximillian Von Richter." he read off, "What happened to him?" 

Nobody knows!> Greta shook her head, I think the Israelis have given up looking for him.> 

**_"I'd sure as hell would like to give Mossad his address!"_** Dr. Zack thought as he translated. He noted a bit of yellow off to a corner, representing a marriage between a Hofstroden and an ancestor of the present day Von Grovens. Frowning, he decided to trace it later. 

It was a great tragedy too!> Greta continued, The Von Richters were a proud famliy of officers descended from a pikeman who had been knighted for great bravery and valor on the field. The whole family was-> 

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??" A loud voice rose up from among the general din. 

"KICK THE DAMN BALL, STUPID!" Another shouted. 

"WHAT'S HE LOOKING AT?" The first voice whined loudly. 

"DO NOT LOOK IN THE EYE? WHAT KIND OF-" 

"NOW THAT IS AN UGLY BALLOON!"*** 

Dr. Zack got up and made his way back into the den just in time to see a panoramic shot on the TV of a red eye floating over the soccer stadium, streamers floating from it. It DID look like a rather ugly balloon, until darker reddish purple rings started to appear and ripple from the iris. The sounds of the crowd in the stadium died out as they obviously started looking at it. 

"No! Don't look! DON'T LOOK!" a woman's voice came from the set, her voice drowned out in feedback coming from talking too loudly into the microphone in her panic. 

Dr. Zack recognized the speaker immediately. _"Cybersix!"_ he thought immediately, noting that one of the teams playing was from Meridiana. 

Blue streaks of light were beginning to shoot upwards and into the eye. 

"What is THAT THING?" someone demanded, but Dr. Zack took no notice as he realized that the-THING-was getting bigger and bigger! 

Suddenly, the camera jerked and twisted crazily, apparently dropped by the cameraman. It must have fallen on a table on its side, for the picture was twisted by 90 degrees. Dr. Zack craned his head sideways to get a better look. 

"Something's wrong in Meridiana!" "Hah! That's not the half of it! Wierd stuff's been coming out of that place!" 

"They're not moving." Dr. Zack stated. 

"What?" They turned their heads sideways and looked at the picture, "Tony, you're right!" one said worriedly, "Nobody's moving!" 

"They all look like their minds have gone poof!" 

"Tony! You live in Merid-" 

But Dr. Zack was already weaving through the crowd of relatives that were gathering around the television set, heading for the kitchen, "Where's the phone?" he demanded. 

"On the wall." His sister, Sarita, pointed, "What's wrong, Tony?" she asked worriedly, glancing at the stunned group standing around the television set. 

"Everything," he muttered, punching in the number for the Merdiana High School main office,   
----------------------   
Dr. Zack sat in his library, looking at his notes. He occasionally glanced up at the window, then at his watch. He would then sigh and turn his attention back to his notes. 

The gentle beeping of the security system alerted him to his expected visitor, "House! Unlock library window!" he commanded. 

Cybersix pushed the panes aside and stepped into the room, "Good evening, Dr. Zacharias." 

"Good evening, Cybersix." He greeted her, rising, "I'll get the tea." 

When he returned with the tea set and kettle, Cybersix had cleared the table and pulled her chair up to it. He set the tray down and began to pour the fruit tea, "I was out of town, visiting relatives, when that, that eye, attacked the stadium." 

"It was not a good day." Cybersix agreed soberly. 

"What happened?" 

"I think it was a Von Richter Chip. It had the ability to absorb people's minds, growing as it did so. It also could shoot laser beams. It was under Jose's control. It took Data 7's mind while we were trying to stop Jose from robbing a bank. It also took-" she paused, sighed, closed her eyes momentarily, then continued, "I was almost overcome, but used a mirror to make it look at itself, making it absorb its own mind. It then attacked the stadium-" 

"I know." He said, "I recognized your voice." 

She looked at him, startled. 

"The game was being broadcast all over South America." He pointed out, "Everyone knows now." 

"They should have known when the Goblins were loose!" she said angrily, "What is the national government doing?" 

"Nothing, it seems." He said, "How did you stop it?" 

"I used liquid nitrogen to freeze it. Some Fixed Ideas shot a rocket at me, but it hit the eye instead and shattered it." 

"Um hmm." he nodded, "Clever." 

"Dumb luck!" she said angrily, "That was too close! It almost took the entire city and beat me!" 

"But you beat it." he said, admiration in his voice. 

"Too close." she repeated, closing her eyes as if she was remembering something. She then opened them and looked at him solemnly, "Dr. Zacharias, I must ask you to do something for me, to make sure something like this doesn't get out of control if I'm not so lucky next time." 

"Of course, Cybersix. What is it?" 

"Do you remember when you showed us how you made rubies?" 

"Yes." 

"And do you remember what you said about making diamonds the same way?" 

"Yes. I said that the nanites would be too dangerous to humans, because they were made of carbon also." 

"And you said that those nanites would kill people by turning them into diamonds, right?" 

"Yes. They would." 

"Could you make nanites like that?" she asked him. 

"Yes." He said, "But I wouldn't." he added hastily. 

"Can you make nanites that would only attack sustenance based creatures like Von Richter's?" 

Dr. Zack looked at her for a long moment, realizing what she was asking, "It depends. I must know more about how sustenance is used in such creatures before I can come up with a nanite that could infect and kill them." 

"Such as?" she pressed. 

"I need to know how it fits into their biological systems. That means me using my submolecular vision to watch the process in one such creature." he said, adding, "That knowledge may help me figure out how to make it." 

She put her cup down, reached up, and took off her hat. She then undid her cape and let it fall behind her. She then reached for the zipper to her top. 

He held his hand up hastily, "That isn't necessary! I only need to watch how the muscles in your arm work!" 

"Then you will make the nanite?" she asked, looking a bit relieved. 

"I will try." he stated, adding, "But I will release it only if you and Data 7 die." 

"Good enough for me," she said, holding her left arm out over the table. 

Dr. Zack reached out with his hand, palm up. She gently laid her hand in his, palm up also. 

Her skin felt rather warm to the touch. _"Must be the effect of using sustenance."_ he thought. 

He paused, "I-think you need to know something before we start." 

"What?" 

He sighed, "My family is very much into geneaologies. While looking at the family geneaology, I discovered that there were two familes, two bloodlines, that came together exactly three times in my family. These two bloodlines carried two sets of genes that, when joined together, become active in all the grandsons coming from the union." 

Cybersix nodded, "A recessive gene that sleeps for a generation." she said. 

"I have confirmed that that gene is what causes my submolecular vision. It came to me through my granmama Carmen. She had an aunt of the same bloodline who had earlier married the uncle of her husband's father. That woman's two grandsons were the two cousins that went mad, and which I suspected had the talent, but did not know how to use." 

"And the third?" Cybersix asked. 

"The cousin of an earlier ancestor married into a family that had a descendant who married a third cousin of my grandfather. The daughter from that union married into a family of German officers descended from a German knight, by the name of Von Richter. They had one son." 

"Oh my!" Cybersix breathed.   
----------------------   
_"Okay,"_ Von Richter thought, looking at the test tube full of sustenance, _"This mix should work. Time to start the growth process."_

He concentrated on the test tube. Suddenly, it felt as if he was shrinking and jumping into the test tube. Everything became huge around him as his vision grew narrower and narrower. It seemed as if he was bungee jumping into the test tube. 

Mentally, he dodged the swirling molecules, searching. 

He finally found the lone cell floating in the middle of the test tube. He smiled, concentrated, and his vision plunged through the cell wall, through the cytoplasm, through to the nucleus. 

He eventually identified the right gene. 

Concentrating, he flipped a few nucelotides, then mentally darted out of the way as the genetic machinery took the cue and started producing the enzymes necessary to initiate the cell division process. 

"Master! Master!" 

His vision suddenly snapped back to normal, "What IS it?" he asked the Techno irritably, "Can't you see I'm busy?" 

"We have a problem!" 

Von Richter sighed. Techno 1954 had served him well, and had good ideas, "What?" 

"I've come across some research papers on theoretical Quantum Mechanics. It's very abstract, but the derivations seem to indicate that the author is familiar with sustenance." 

Von Richter chuckled, "Oh really? You suspect he's trying to make some?" 

"I'm not at all sure. The energy equations use constants that produce predictions of spontaneous light emissions with the same energy level as the light given off by sustenance." 

"Coincidence perhaps." He dismissed it with a wave. 

"Sir, with all due respect..." 

"What?" he sighed. 

"This Dr. Zacharias lives in Meridiana." 

Von Richter thought for a long moment, "What you do think we should do?" he asked, sighing. 

"Requesting permission to send the CE unit to bring the doctor here for questioning." 

Von Richter swiveled his chair back to face his workbench, "Permission granted." he tossed over his shoulder.   
-------------------   
*** My thanks to Apocalypse Watcher 47 for this keen observation.   
  



	11. I HATE Saran Wrap!

I HATE Saran Wrap Ptah's note: Now for something completely different! Anya Megami, the authoress of numerous Cybersix and Gundam Wing fanfictions, wrote the following as a Christmas present for me. We worked together a little to get Dr. Zack's reaction right, and here it is. It's written from the point of view of Anay's Fan character, Quaren (Rev. 2). Thanks, #2 SID (Surrogate Internet Daughter)!

I HATE Saran Wrap!   
------------------------------------   
I glanced up at the townhouse. It LOOKED innocent enough. But Father had said that it was heavily guarded. "Yeah, so the old farts a paranoid genius. Why do I gotta waste my time with this again?" I grumbled. I was NOT happy about this half-baked assignment. So Von Reichter was worried about the old guy, big deal. What threat could he possibly have? Anyway, I figured I might as well get it over with. Keeping father's warning in mind, I walked up the steps, looking casual, but actually on alert. Ringing the bell, I crossed my arms, and putting my hands closer to the gun. 

Dr. Anthony Zacharias opened the door and smiled kindly at me. I felt sick. 

"Yes Miss?" He asked. Not wasting time on chitchat, I had pulled out the gun, twirled in my hand for flair, then pointed it at him. 

"Shut up." I said, glancing over him. He looked like no more then a kindly mild aged man. Von Reichter was afraid of THAT? I smirked. "He was worried about YOU?" In a lightning fast move I reached out and twisted his arm behind his back, it was kind of stiff though, and was muttering something... 

"who sent you?" He finally growled out, but not TOO offensively, I did have a gun to his head after all. 

"You'll see. C'mon." I started to drag him down the steps to the van I'd come in, but then something happened. There was the roaring off to the side and next thing I know there's a-get this- LAWNMOWER careening straight at me! Well I rolled to the side pretty quickly, but the damn thing turned and kept going at me. I jumped into the air in a perfect mid air summersault and landed on the seat of the mower. Sitting down I ripped open the top of it, revealing an engine and I reached into it, snapping a wire or two until the stupid thing came to a stop. Glaring at the offensive piece of junk as I climbed off, I let my attention go back to the Doctor. And I swear I nearly fell over. 

He had on a ski mask...and...Thermal underwear? He looked absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't suppress a laugh. I let myself become a grey and black blur as I ran foreword at top speed, ducking behind him to kick him down in the back, but my kick didn't connect...or...something and I fell over backwards. 

"Oof!" I grunted as I landed hard on my rear. In my millisecond of being off guard, he gained a lot of strength and soon had me held tight from behind with a knife at my throat. It wasn't fair. I spun around, breaking free with waaay more effort then I should of had to use. Stupid old guy wasn't supposed to be so strong! There are RULES, and rules state that humans are NOT aloud to be stronger then I. It was an outrage. 

So anyway, I tried to punch him, but my punch just...stopped. Like punching a brick wall or something, the guy didn't even stumble!! I backed away pretty quick. Looking him over, I tried to see how he did it. He was in a defensive stance, and was holding a gun. 

Shit. 

I dropped my gun in the rush to escape the lawnmower. Well, I've dodged bullets before, might as well do it again. I took a defensive stance, rocking on the balls of my toes, ready to jump and leap and dodge. But he just...looked at me funny. Finally, I figured he might not shoot me and decided to go for it. I ran forward and tried to get a punch in, but again with the brick wall trick. At this point, a gun from the top of the house started shooting at me, I dived out of the way but I messed up the leap. I slammed into the wall and slumped down to the ground. Ow. That one hurt. 

Jumping up, I brushed myself off and reached down to my boot and pulled out my most prized possession. My dagger. The handle is black and has perfect black diamonds on it. RARE and EXPENSIVE. The blade is wicked sharp, can cut though just about anything. Father gave it to me, saying it was a black beauty, just like I'm his 'Angel Of Death'. That's cos people say my hair looks angelic and because I kill things quite well. Huh. Black beauty and The Angel of Death. Anyway, I pulled out my dagger and jumped up into the air. 

I spun in mid air, like a trapeze artist or something and landed behind him, I tried slashing at his face but he turned and fired that blasted gun. I tried spinning to the side but I still got a bullet in the arm. Not fair, not fair, NOT fair. He has to be a good shot too? SOMEONE was going to hurt for this injustice...and at that moment it was me. 

I tumbled to ground, grabbing my arm. He was on me suddenly, gun at my head and a fierce look in his eyes. I glared up at him, and he seemed to get a good look at me. A strand of hair was in my face so I blew up on it to get it out of the way. He smiled then. Again I state that this whole situation is NOT fair. He has to be fast, strong, unhitable, a good shot and now he gets to mock me? Someone is gonna die for this. I swear. I might just knock Jose around a bit. It's HIS town, he should keep old farts like this in line!...Oh wait, that was my job wasn't it? Damn. 

"Quit smiling at me and shoot me already!" I ground out, beyond annoyed and right into seriously pissed off. I was about to be finished off by some paranoid high school teacher! Why me? 

"What...your arm. That substance...." He was then staring at my arm in wonder. I glanced down. I was bleeding pretty badly. But not blood. No, I don't have blood. I bleed sustenance. I realized my cargos were getting burnt up. Dammit. It won't burn my skin, Von Reichter fixed that a long time ago, but my clothes weren't acid proof. 

"Aww shit." I muttered, holding my arm out to get most of the sustenance to drip onto the grass. I winced. It hurt, hell it hurt. 

"Here, come inside..." he said absently. "We'll take a look at that arm." I was kind of dizzy at that moment, so much bleeding and all. All I could do was nod numbly, I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly. 

I followed him up the steps, and suddenly the cement seem to gain a life of it's own, ad was suddenly rushing at me at high speed. My list of complaints just got longer. Cement stairs were NOT allowed to attack too. Not fair, not fair, not-- 

....... 

Everything came back slowly. Smell, taste, hearing, feeling (oww...okay, serious migraine now, the numbness looked more and more appealing), and finally, sight. I opened my eyes and realised I was lying on a table or something, with these straps of strange material holding me down. The good doctor was sitting over me. I was about break free but he raised a hand. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said. I rolled my eyes. 

"And why not exactly?" 

"Those are quantum wave suit threads. Set at 100%. If you move they'll slice your limbs apart." He seemed a slight bit smug. 

I digested this information. He could be bluffing. Tensely I let on finger raise up and push against the quantum thingies. 

SHIT! Damn that stung. And it was cold as hell. Folding my hand into a fist so my abused finger was covered and hidden away beneath my hand, I leaned back my heed and sighed heavily. I could smell burning fabric. My finger was bleeding. Probably burning my cargo's even more. WONDERFUL. Of course more holes in my clothes is EXACTLY what I needed at that moment. Well, even though my shattered pride is lying in pitiful pieces on the floor, my faithful sarcasm hasn't deserted me. Yet. 

And of course, on top of all that I had the WORST headache and was getting kinda woozy. Too much sustenance loss. And my throat hurt. Again. I tried my hardest not to couch, because that might jolt me against the bonds and I was in enough pain as it is. But, alas my body betrayed me again and started hacking. It wasn't too bad, but I did jolt against the bonds once...ow!   
Fuck. Shit. OW!! kuso, shimmatta... shaisa..I'm swearing in 3 different languages, yay me....owowowowowowowowowow!!!!! 

"Sheiss!" He cursed in German. He reached down under the table and did something. The threads broke, but I wasn't thinking about carrying out my mission! I was lacerated very badly, bleeding and hurting like hell. 

He pulled on some rubber gloves and, get this, pulls out a carton of SARAN WRAP! I kid you not! How the hell did he know that Saran Wrap's one of the few household items that DOESN'T react to sustenance? 

Well, he started wrapping me up in saran wrap. I was still hurting awful, but cooperated as best I could, coughing and rolling over when he told me to. 

"Okay miss. I think we've stopped the bleeding for the moment." He said finally. 

Great situation. I was lying there, done up like a mummy in Saran wrap. The devious bastard saran-wrapped my arms to my sides, so if I even tried to make a grab for him, the saran wrap would tear and I'd start bleeding again. The table was kinda tub-like anyhow, so the sustenance pooled in it, and in my haste to help the old fart save my life, all my clothes got soaked in it. Being naked and wrapped in saran wrap was NOT my idea of a good time. 

I looked at him for a moment and then glared at him. "Pervert!" I spat at him, The old man was just staring at my chest!! 

Did I mention this entire situation is NOT FAIR?! I think I might just faint again from the injustice of it all. 

I tried to turn away but I was feeling really woozy. I groaned slightly and sunk lower in the tub. I needed a transfusion... I tried to say that, I wasn't sure if I was really saying it because darkness was coming again... what a way to die. Naked and tangled in in saran wrap. 

I think moaned. The world was spinning around too fast for comfort. Sorta like the vertigo chamber, where they spin you around in a chair for 20 minutes in the centre of a circular steel chamber designed to catch your vomit. 

Slowly, far too slowly, everything came to a stop. I glanced around. An IV with dirty looking sustenance is dripping into my arm, and I've got a blanket over me. 

"Ah, you're up." I glanced to the side. He was standing there smoking a pipe. Disgusted, I turned away. 

"I've forgone the quantum thread in favour of the saran wrap. You tear it, you bleed to death." He glanced up at the IV, "I didn't know what else was mixed in with it, and it doesn't seem to be the same kind of sustenance I'm familiar with, so I took the liberty of recycling what you lost. I don't think there's going to be a problem with infection. I've also verified you don't have any leaks or internal bleeding." He emitted a puff, "Yet." He added as an afterthought, patting the gun on his lap. 

A 22. I was winged by an old guy with a punky, farm-kid, squirrel gun sized 22?! 

Sighing heavily I lay back. "Father is going to kill me anyway..." I mumbled. 

He chuckled, "Yes, he might at that." 

Damn. That crap about high school teachers having keen hearing WAS true! 

Sounds came from upstairs, then the sound of a door above and to the right of me banging against a wall. Someone was coming down the stairs. Oh great! More humiliation! I closed my eyes and wished I was someplace else. Anywhere. Even in Jose's mansion, getting ribbed by the stunted twerp. 

"Oh! Is it time now?" Dr. Zack remarked to someone, "I'm rather busy right now. I have a guest that's tried to kill me, if you must know." 

"I didn't try to kill you." I mumbled weakly. 

The table I was on shook with two blows one on either side of my head. A gust of hot breath, smelling of raw meat, hit my face. 

No. Please don't let it be... 

I opened my eyes and looked up. 

Crap. Data-7. 

Shiiiit... I swear if cats could laugh he'd be in hysterics. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! And it doesn't help that he just... STARED at me... Uhg. I wanted to die. 

So he walks over to Dr. Zack and gives him the most incredulous look. Knowing the old man wouldn't understand I spoke up, "He wants to know if I'm on the menu." I laughed bitterly. 

"Well, what will it be? Her or the filet mignons?" 

Data 7 looks at me, then at him, then dashes back to the table, grabs the blanket, and runs off with it. 

"DATA-7!" The old guy goes after him. I can't see very well from where I'm at, but I can hear tables and chairs turning over, as well as a computer monitor popping. I know the sound, having put my fist through one when Jose hacked up Windows NT on my machine to hurl insults at me and scrub my disk. 

"OWWWW!" 

"Mmmmrrrtttt?" 

Dr. Zack comes back with the blanket, now with three tears in it, and covers me back up. Sporting a big cut on his head, "Stupid cat.." He muttered. 

"Yeah, a big pain in the ass, I can tell you." I replied. Old Geezer deserved it. 

He goes off to get a bandage. Data 7 comes up and sets his big hairy head next to mine on the table so that his hot, stinking breath blows into my ear. 

I hate cats. 

"Data7 get your stinky fish breath OUT OF MY EAR!!" I finally shouted. Which made me cough. Which made him breath out harder and it stunk. It really did. I closed my eyes, and stopped using my nose. On instinct I'll breath softly just so I can smell my surroundings, but lucky me I don't need to breath, so smelling is optional. I think the good doctor noticed this and freaked out because all of a sudden he was shaking my arms. Hello! Flesh wound here! Chance of bleeding to death! "Cut it out!" I snapped. "Are you TRYING to reopen the fucking wound? ...And would you PLEASE Give me my knife so I can KILL that stupid animal?!" 

"Knife?" 

"You DID save my knife...right?" My eyes snapped open and I sat straight up. It hurt, but I can deal with pain. The blanket fell down but I wasn't worried about that either. "Black dagger, diamonds? I swear if you let it burn I will rip you into tiny pieces!" 

"Burn? Sustenance doesn't burn metals." he said, "The belief that it's an acid is founded only on the reaction it has on..." 

"GIMMIE MY FUCKING KNIFE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. 

There's a pause. Then a weird sound. We both look around, and there's Data 7 on the ground, rolling on his back, acting as if he's hacking up a hair ball. 

"Great, first you, now him!" Dr. Zack was looking frazzled. 

I fell back on the table, "The damn pussy cat's laughing, I think. Will you pleeeeze get me my oh-so-precious knife?" I asked, desperately deciding to try sugar instead of battery acid. 

He looked at me, shrugged, and went out of the room. Data 7 continued to hack for a few more minutes. Maybe the panther from hell is actually gagging on a hairball. Nah. My luck couldn't possibly be improving. 

"Quite unharmed, as I thought!" Dr. Zack came back, "Oh my! It IS a beaut!" He exclaimed. 

I snatched my Black Beauty before he had finished talking, it was awkward, since my arms were bound beside by sides but I did it and looked it over as best I could. It WAS unharmed, a little sticky with green gunk, but okay. Time to be relieved. 

"Now I have a few questions." he said. Wonderful. "Why did you try to assassinate me?" He shook his head, "What a waste of genius, using you as a killer! Your body seems to have been custom built, and runs almost entirely on sustenance! If Von Reichter couldn't get three Nobel prizes out of that feat alone, then they're brain dead in Stockholm!" 

I sighed heavily. "I did not try to assassinate you!!" I said, "Assassination and kidnap are two completely different things." 

"Well, I assumed you didn't want a bloody body in the way while ransacking my house!" He replied. He frowned, as if thinking, "So what does Von Richter want with me?" He asked, putting his gun away, "I'm just a lowly high school teacher." That's a laugh. 

I snorted. "A lowly high school teacher with a top of the line security system with a psycho lawnmower, an IV, knows about sustenance, is friends with data 7, who you'd have to be completely insane to achieve friendship with anyway, military level gunmanship, thermal underwear...thingies and a townhouse. All on a teachers salary. Riiiight." I rolled my eyes. "And why the hell would I ran sack this dump? I have better things to do then rob a house." 

"Ah! He didn't tell you then?" He chuckled. "When you get home tell him Data 7 arrived at the last minute, and that if he wants those three Nobel prizes, to meet me at the McDonald's around the corner from Meridiana High School so that I can spell it out for him. He shouldn't be hard for me to miss with a shnozz the size of a carrot. Or so I've been told." 

I just glared at him and turned away. 

"You should rest." he said suddenly. He left the room. Tired and drained, I fell asleep. 

... 

Falling asleep was SUCH a bad idea!! He must of givien me a shot or something because when I woke up, I was hanging upside down in front of Jose's mansion. hanging from a TREE!! It was dark out... yeah. if I slept through that I must of been drugged. Sighing I realized I was still naked and wrapped in saran wrap. 

I felt awful. Humiliated and cold, my chest felt strange, and after a moment I realised I was crying. I had disgraced Von Richter's name and my own reputation. I had failed; I deserved death for that. Clamping my mouth shut I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to stop the tears from running from my eyes, but I couldn't stop the shaking. A human had bested me. 

I stayed like that all night. In the morning, a fixed idea found me. I only had one thing to say to his hysterical laughter. 

"Here I hang   
From a tree   
with an urge   
to be Free 

As you see   
as I dangle   
I got a job   
I couldn't handle 

Beat in a fight   
with Dr. Zack,   
on whom I wish   
a heart attack! 

Bound in Saran   
Here I sway   
Wishing like hell   
I was far away! 

So quit your laughing   
you witless clown!   
Get off your ass,   
AND CUT ME DOWN!" 

~owari~ 

---------------------------------------   
Again, Thanks for the Christmas Present, Anya!!   



	12. Dancing with the Devil

Dancing with the Devil This takes place very shortly before episode 11.   
--------------------   
Dr. Zack flipped the sign hanging next to his office door to "IN", opened the door, and went into his office. He went around to the side, flipped on the computer, then sat down. 

He didn't expect too many visitors, because the weather outside had been downright wonderful. He wasn't planning an exam this week, so there would be no last second pleas for mercy or requests for immediate IQ augmentation. He pulled over a sheaf of quizzes and began grading them while his computer connected to the Internet and downloaded his e-mail. 

After finishing the pile, he turned to the computer and glanced down the list of messages. Many were from Quantum Chemists responding to his recent article in "Quantum Chemistry Journal", and a few from colleagues with the next few steps of derivations for cooperative articles. He noticed one from Jack Travis and double-clicked on it immediately.   


> From: "Dr. Jack W. Travis" jwtravis@liquidair.com   
To: "Dr. Anthony Zacharias" dr_z@meridianet.net   
Cc: none   
Re: Thanks For the photos!   
Message:   
Hey Tony! 

Thanks for the infared photos of the Mark-2A prototypes we used to ship your order of lnit. Thanks also for recovering the bottle used to trash that eye and shipping it back to us. Our bigwigs weren't enthused about this model until they heard what the prototype went through and the use it was put to. I dread to think what kind of advertising crap Marketing is thinking up right now! 

Many thanks also for suggesting some ideas for changing our manufacturing process so we can cover that cold spot the photos showed. You're right, of course: We weren't thinking outside the box, or the bottle in this case, because we WERE limiting ourselves by the process we used to make the old Dewar models. 

By the way, the camera was just fine. I dunno who the hell the slavedriver is who you work for, but that poor lady with the glasses in the reference pic should have been in bed, not working in a high school with a fever of 102. You deserve to be at MIT, not in a third rate high school in a third world country that's clueless about public health. Honestly Tony, all that crap kicked up with that paper about vestigal DNA should have died down by now, you know? 

Hey, with all the bad stuff and goings on down there in Meridiana, are you interested in a cozy job here at Liquid Air? Nah. We couldn't be that lucky, would we? But just in case, do keep us, and me, in mind, okay? 

Thanks again, Tony. I owe ya. 

  
_"What the hell??"_ Dr. Zack thought, puzzled. 

There was an attachment to the letter. Dr. Zack clicked on it, and a large JPEG appeared. An infared photo showing temperature gradients in a wide rainbow of colors was on the left half of the JPEG, and there was Jack's handwriting on the right, with arrows pointing to various spots on the picture. One identified two dark circles on the face as glasses. Another marking circled two temperature anomalies on the person's chest with an arrow pointing to them, and a label of "WOOT!!!!" at the other end of the arrow. A double-headed arrow pointed to a scale at one end and the neck of the person with the other. It was labeled "102.3". Two arrows identified a narrowing around the waist, and had "*"'s attached. At the bottom was the note, "*What's she like in normal light? In a Bikini? *drool*" 

"Womanizing bastard." Dr. Zack muttered with a chuckle, shaking his head and remembering the wild weekends that he and Jack had barely survived while in college, "Its a miracle his gonads are still attached to him. Hah! I wonder what he'd think if he knew that 'she' dresses in dr-" 

Then he stopped. 

Adrian had appeared perfectly healthy that day. 

The tank of liquid nitrogen that Cybersix had used had come from HERE. From Meridiana High School. 

And he recalled that her body temperature was higher than normal, due to inefficiencies when burning sustenance. 

Dr. Zack grabbed a sheet of paper and began to calculate thermal dissipation rates, pulling down handbooks of chemistry and physics constants to look up the numbers he needed. 

He grimaced at the ringing of the phone. He snatched it up, "Dr. Zacharias here. What is it?" he demanded irritably, trying to punch some numbers into the Calculator app on his Palm Pilot at the same time. 

"Phone call for you, sir." 

"From whom? 

"He won't say, sir." 

"Okay! Put him on!" There was a clicking on the line, "Hello? This is Dr. Anth-" 

"Dr. Anthony Zacharias, world expert in Quantum Mechanics. Yes, I know." 

Dr. Zack frowned, "Who are you, sir, and what is the purpose of this call, I may ask?" 

The voice chuckled maliciously at the other end of the line, "Why, I called to thank you for only humiliating my agent, and not killing her." 

Dr. Zack dropped the Palm stylus, hand shaking. He wheeled around to face his chair away from the door, willing the flesh of his back to stop crawling, "Von Richter." he said, hoping his voice didn't shake as bad as his fingers, "I didn't know you cared." 

"Why, I am rather attached to her. After all, I am not as bad as some make me out to be." 

_"Do tell."_ Dr. Zack thought. "Is that all?" 

"No. Are you trying to duplicate sustenance?" 

Dr. Zack thought a long moment, wheeling around nervously in his chair. He looked out the open door. 

Adrian Seidelman was in the hall, pinning a paper to a billboard. 

He then glanced at the JPEG glowing on his monitor. 

"Yes," He said firmly, glancing back at the disguised Cybersix and realizing for the first time in his life what heroes were for, "I am." 

"I wouldn't advise that." 

"You're in no position to threaten me!" Dr. Zack replied, feeling his courage rise, "I obtained my research samples in the same way Cybersix does. I could use a few more!" 

Pause, "So you are allied with the renegade!" he spat out, losing his cool. 

"I'll figure out how to make sustenance," Dr. Zack said firmly, "You've no clue what that stuff is capable of!" 

"Oh Really?" the voice dripped with contempt. 

"Yes! And I'll give you the credit for it too." 

"You will?" The voice was startled, caught off guard. 

"Of course. After the world realizes the full potential of sustenance, you'll go down in history as the greatest example of a wasted life!" 

There was a snarl, then the sound of a receiver being slammed back on its hook. Dialtone. 

Grinning, Dr. Zack hung his phone up, "No more running," he said to himself. 

He crumpled up the page of half-finished calculations and pocketed his Palm. He then got up and walked out to the billboard. 

"Really Lucas!" Adrian was talking earnestly to Lucas Amato, "It'll be a good talk. It'll do you some good to get some culture!" 

"Adrain, I flunked Literature in high school and barely passed in College! I wouldn't understand all that gobbledygook!" 

"Yes you can, if you just tried!" 

Dr. Zack looked at the new poster on the bulletin board. It read: 

The Playwright in The Tempest.   
A talk to the Meridiana Literary Society   
By Adrian Seidelman.   
Meridiana Museum of Art and Culture,   
19:00 July 9. 

"You're giving a talk?" Dr. Zack asked. 

"Yes. It seems that the father of one of my students is on the board, so they extended an invitation to me!" 

"Well, that will help with your evaluation." 

"IF I can get someone to hear me and write a report! Lucas! I could really use your help this time!" 

"Uhhh, sorry buddy! I'd fall asleep half way, and there'd go your report. Maybe someone else? How about the librarian?" Lucas said, backing away. 

Adrian looked very disappointed, "Oh, okay!" he said resignedly, waving his hand, "May as well ask Lori to attend while I'm at it!" he muttered under his breath. 

"Isn't that a typo?" Dr. Zack pointed at the poster, "Shouldn't it be The Playwright AND The Tempest?" 

"Oh no!" He sounded amused, "That's the right word." 

"And you're talking about the play, not about a crisis in Shakespeare's life?" 

Adrian smiled, "Yes. The play." 

Dr. Zack pulled out his Palm Pilot and began to punch at the screen, "I'm free that night. I'll attend and write that report on your talk. It should be interesting." 

"You will?" Adrian asked hopefully, almost unbelieving. 

"Yes." he said, pocketing his Palm, "It should have a bit more weight than Lucas' anyhow. See you then!" 

"Thank you." he said simply, smiling at him.   
-------   
Dr. Zack studied the notes in his hand, turning occasionally to gaze into the vial of sustenance for a few long minutes. He was interrupted when the security system simultaneously chimed AND beeped. 

He quickly put the vial aside, pulled out his pistol, and glanced at the readout. One indicator showed something VERY large walking toward the front door along the walkway, while the other indicated someone walking along the wall opposite the library window. He swiveled toward the library window, body tense. He relaxed when he saw Cybersix's face, framed by her fedora and the red lining of her cape, appear in the window. She smiled and tapped at a pane, 

"Library Window open!" he commanded, putting away his pistol, "Good evening Cybersix!" 

"Good evening Doctor Zacharias. Were you expecting unwelcome guests?" she asked, eyes sparkling as she stepped inside. 

"You're several weeks early." He pointed out, "AND I seem to have a guest at the front door." 

"Yes, I Invited him." She wrapped her cape around herself, "I hope you didn't mind." 

Curiosity aroused, Dr. Zack went downstairs, Cybersix following him. He got to the front door, flicked off the alarm system, switched on the light, and took a look at the small CCTV screen to identify his guest. 

Cybersix laughed softly at his reaction to a huge Fixed Idea waiting patiently outside his door, "Please don't keep him waiting, Dr. Zack!"   



	13. Appearances are Deceiving

Appearances are Deceiving The look of amusement on Cybersix's face at his surprise made Dr. Zack hesitate a bit, but he went ahead and opened the door. 

The Fixed Idea bent down, peered through the door, saw Cybersix, smiled and nodded, **"Good evening, Dr. Anthony Zacharias."**

Dr. Zack blinked, recognizing the voice immediately, "Well, good evening and come on in! And you are?" 

The Fixed Idea carefully eased himself through the door, **"Fixed Idea 4, Doctor. Although I like my friends to call me Mel."**

Dr. Zack glanced at Cybersix: She had turned her attention to him, and saw the same look in her eye that she always had when talking about Data 7, "Come on upstairs, Mel, and we'll have some fruit tea and get acquainted," He hazarded. 

**"That would be nice." **Mel said. 

They made their way back up to the library, the staircase groaning at Mel's weight. As Fixed Ideas went, Mel was on the large side. Dr. Zack was glad he was a friend of Cybersix's, not relishing wanting to meet him him an alley. Even with a Wave Suit on. Intelligence had a way of equalzing unequal opponents. 

He had been planning to have fruit tea anyway that night, so it was just a matter of geting the extra chinaware and pulling out a selection of teas for Mel to choose from. He could hear Mel and Cybersix discuss the seating and moving the chairs into place. When he came out, Mel was kneeling on the carpet, while Cybersix was in her usual chair: Dr. Zack marvelled at her ability to sit so ladylike after having to pretend being a man all day. 

_"Perhaps that's the reason for the way she dresses: It's her way to reaffirm her femininity after suppressing it all day." _he mused. Aloud, he said, "I have some fruit teas that you can try, Mel. You couldn't find a place to sit?" 

He made a face, **"I don't think the furniture you have can support me, Doctor."**

"Good point." Dr. Zack conceded. Mel's upper body was so high, he still towered over the small table. 

Mel chose Mandarin Orange, while Cybersix had her usual Blueberry, "Well, I suppose I should apologize," Dr. Zack said while the teas seeped, "I'm obviously not a fire inspector." 

Mel grinned, **"I concluded that when Cybersix paid us a visit that night."**

"That quarter case has been invaluable for both of us." Dr. Zack said, "I've been able to do a lot of experimentation with my half." 

"He's got an engine that can run on sustance for weeks!" Cybersix said with admiration. 

"And not a whiff of pollution all that time." Dr. Zack said rather proudly, "Had to change out the carburetor, unfortunately, but switching over the current car fleet to burn sustenance is still quite feasable. In fact, the power density is so high, we can sell the stuff over the counter in the same way motor oil is sold, and in the same containers too." he leaned over to check his tea, "All we have left to figure out is how to charge the stuff." 

**"Which is why I'm here, Doctor."** Mel said. 

"You know how to charge sustenance?" Dr. Zack asked, sitting up. 

Mel shook his head, **"I can get away with a lot of things pretending to be a dumb Fixed Idea, but I don't think he has that secret written down anywhere."**

"By the way, how come you're-" Dr. Zack started. 

**"-smart?"** Mel grinned and shrugged, **"I have no idea. My programming also is incomplete, so the two may be related. I believe that several electrodes that are used to program a creation while it's growing were faulty in my tank. At first, I kinda imitated everyone else. It wasn't until I witnessed the first beatings that I decided that my ability to put two and two together to make four would best remain a secret."**

"So how did you two get to be friends?" Dr. Zack asked. 

Cybersix looked pained, "It was after Cyber 29-Data 7-fell off a cliff. I didn't know Von Richter had recovered the brain, but I was blamed for the accident and beaten terribly by my Unit leader." 

**"I think he would have killed her by accident if I hadn't said anything."** Mel said. **"I later went by and tried to comfort her, and wound up being her friend."** He glanced at her, **"She has a way of attracting people by her grace and sweetness."**

Cybersix blushed slightly, "That friendship saved me." she said, smiling at Mel, "Mel was the watchman for the gate that my Papa used to get me out of there the night before-" she stopped. 

"Before what?" Dr. Zack asked, lifting the teabags out of the cups to signal that the teas were ready. 

**"Before the Cybers were destroyed."** Mel said, **"Fed to the Xenors.*"**

"Xenors?" 

"Giant spider-like creations." Cybersix said, shuddering, "He always threatened to feed us to them, but we never believed him." 

**"A terrible way to kill those children."** Mel shook his head, **"Von Richter saved a few who proved loyal, although I never saw 7 ever again. Elio discovered the plot first, and was determined to save one. It was a hard choice, but I confess my choice was biased-"** He smiled lopsidedly, glancing at Cybersix, **"There were two who were able to get away on their own. I also contacted someone who could take one, but she didn't get there in time. She took a body, probably to give it a decent burial, which is what they all deserved, the poor things."**

"Why did he destroy them?" Dr. Zack asked. 

"He thought we were not obedient enough to him." Cybersix said after sipping at her tea. 

**"Damn bastard,"** Mel sighed, **"They were just being children, for heaven's sakes!"**

They all sipped their tea in silence, thinking of the lost Cybers. 

Cybersix sighed, "I suppose I'm not any better than he." she said, "I mean, I asked you to create a doomsday bug to kill sustenance based creations." 

Dr. Zack glanced at Mel worriedly. 

**"I know about it, Doctor."** Mel assured him, **"And I agree to the necessity of it."**

"Now that you mention it." Dr. Zack said sourly. 

"It's done?" she asked, surprised. 

"Yes. It was depressingly easy, once I figured out the similarities between three different Von Richter creations." 

She blinked at Dr. Zack, "Three? But you only looked at me, Doctor. I brought Mel here so you could get more data from a second model. What were the other two?" 

"Well, there was a young la-woman" Dr. Zack corrected, "Sent from Von Richter to kidnap me several days ago." 

"WHAT?" Cybersix gasped. 

"Quite unusual. Her bloodstream, if you want to call it that, was essentially 100% sustenance. Or a variant of it. No blood cells. I didn't keep her around long enough to, umm, probe further, but there were a lot of similarities between her muscle systems and yours." 

Cybersix looked at Mel, but he shook his head, **"Von Richter doesn't always tell everyone about his Specials. Keeps us on our toes."**

"And the other model?" Cybersix asked. 

"The Velvet** series." 

"HAZEL?" Cybersix made a face. 

"Well, yes. She was rather-" 

"Count the silverware!" she muttered. 

Mel suppressed a chuckle, **"Von Richter's still pissed at how that turned out."** he said**. 

Dr. Zack got up, went to the wall of books, and pulled several volumes out, revealing a wall safe. He spun the dial open, opened it up, and took out a photo and a tray of sustenance vials, which he set aside. He then took out a small canister and turned back to them. It had a biohazard symbol on the outside, but it was colored green, not red, "This is it. The factory nanites." he showed it to Cybersix and Mel, "Disperse this in the air, and they will produce the attack nanites using birds as the host for the manufacture. The Attack nanites can go airborne, like the flu, and then attack sustenance based creatures." 

"Wait a minute. BIRDS?" Cybersix asked, incredulous. 

"Yes. Blue birds mostly." 

Cybersix chuckled, "Poetic justice!" 

"Yes, isn't it?" Dr. Zack grinned, returning the bottle, as well as the other items, to the safe and putting the books back into place. 

**"How does it work, Doctor?"** Mel asked. 

Dr. Zack returned to his armchair, "Although there are differences, the muscle proteins are basically the same between all three models. It is massively modified and more tightly coiled to give greater strength without tearing. However, a higher energy variant of AMP, the fuel used to power muscles, is required for the muscles to contract. Off on a new and separate biochemical side chain, the essential component used to make this SuperAMP is fabricated on the surface of a protein cage, within which a molecule of sustenance is burned. Depending on the model, 13 or 18 molecules of this SuperAMP component are created per molecule of sustenance destroyed. Obviously, there are billions of these cages embedded in all the muscle tissues of a Von Richter creation." 

He pulled out his pipe, but when he noticed that Mel looked a bit distressed when he saw it, put it away, "The Attack nanites zero in on the protein cage and dismantle it without being destroyed themselves. The creation grows weaker and weaker until it simply stops, unable to harness the energy of sustenance to move their muscles. The weaker ones die first." 

**"A frightening and terrible way to die."** Mel commented. 

"Agreed." Dr. Zack made a face, "But the sustenance cage is unique, so nanites that attack that are inherently safe for humans and other animals. The builder nanites don't replicate, and fall apart after building about 2000 attack nanites apiece." 

"Well, I suppose you don't need to look at Mel, do you?" Cybersix asked. 

"On the contrary. Your story about the death of your brothers and sisters makes me even more eager to look at him." 

Mel blinked, **"It does? But Why?"** he asked. 

"Remember that woman you mentioned, who took a dead cyber to bury?" 

**"Yes."**

"She had a BODY to bury." 

**"So?"**

"Fixed Ideas don't leave a body behind when they die." 

"Ohhh!" Mel blinked and grinned, "It WOULD be interesting to know why the later models, and most of the specials, do that, wouldn't it?" 

"You bet." 

**"Okay, let's start."** Mel nodded. 

Dr. Zack pulled out a pad and pencil, "Hold your hand out like this, and set it on the arm here. Move your fingers slowly, like this." 

Mel did so, and Dr. Zack began to stare at his arm. 

**"What's he doing?"** Mel asked Cybersix. 

"He's got a talent that seems to make his eyes better than a microscope." she explained, "He can even see electrons." 

**"Wow."** Mel breathed, impressed, **"Von Richter sometimes looks at his new cultures in the same way for long periods of time."**

"We know." 

**"You do?"**

"Yes. Dr. Zack and Von Richter are related, and we think he's able to do what he does with the same talent." 

**"Must have been distressing to discover that."**

"It was." 

"Wait a minute," Dr. Zack said, sounding very displeased, "This isn't right!" 

**"What isn't right?"** Mel asked, concerned. Cybersix frowned and leaned forward. 

"Let me check to make sure." He said, staring at the arm. Mel and Cybersix looked at each other. 

**"Don't worry."** He told her, seeing the concern in her eyes. 

"I can't help it." she said. 

Mel grinned, **"We did good."** he said in a strange voice. 

"What?" 

**"Elio wanted the nicest and sweetest of the Cybers to rescue. We both couldn't think of anyone more deserving than you." **Mel said. 

"No. No. NO! That's not right!" Dr. Zack said, irritated. 

"What?" They both asked in unison. 

"Follow me to the basement, and I'll show you why what I'm seeing is impossible." Dr. Zack said, rising after taking a vial of sustenance out of his tobacco case.   
----------   
All three stood in front of a thick brick wall with an opening holding a thick block of lead glass. On the other side, they saw a beaker under a faucet whose handle was connected to some solenoids. Dr. Zack had poured one CC of sustenance into the beaker. He was now at the controls in front of the wall, his wave suit ski-mask pulled over his head. 

Cybersix did not like the looks of this, "Are you sure this is safe?" she asked him. 

"To you, but not to me." 

She blinked, "But why-" 

"Just look." Dr. Zack said, pushing a button. A solenoid moved, opening the faucet and letting a small stream of water splash into the beaker, diluting the sustenance, "Nothing interesting will happen until it passes the mark that I put on the beaker. That's about 100 CCs, representing a 1% sustenance concentration. Wave suit on. 80 percent." 

They watched as the water level went up to, then passed the mark. It went about 10 cc's above the mark when, suddenly, the water began to glow green brightly. In fact, it was about as bright as a Fixed Idea disappearing. There was a flash of steam. When it cleared, the beaker was empty. 

"Wave suit off. Below something like 0.9 percent concentration, sustenance spontaneously loses its ability to hold its charge. The majority of the energy is released as light, with the remainder given off as kinetic energy of electrons, or beta radiation." Dr. Zack explained, "Your bodies are able to handle the beta radiation, but not a human body. That's why it's behind the wall, AND I have my wave-suit on." 

**"What has this got to do with me?"** Mel asked. 

"I've double and triple checked. Cybersix's sustenance concentration is about 1.5% to 1.2%, although a vial would probably boost it to about 2%. Your blood concentration is about 0.7%, not more than 0.8%. You should go POOF right now, but you're not." 

**"But I would if I died."** Mel reminded him. 

"Yes." Dr. Zack said. 

The trio stared at each other. 

"There could be many things!" Cybersix said excitedly, starting to pace, "It could be circulation, body heat, muscle activity." 

"Circulatory system. Digestive system." Dr. Zack said, "Nervous sys-THAT'S IT!" He exclaimed. 

"What?" The other two demanded. 

"Electrical activity dies out! I have noticed an excessive amount of electrical activity in all the nervous systems I've looked at. I thought it was necessary to activate the stronger muscles, but what if it has a second purpose? After all, an electrical field effect of some sort is keeping the excitated electrons in sustenance from decaying, in defiance of the Pauli Exclusion principle." 

Mel looked at Cybersix quizically, who just shrugged. 

The brick wall that had protected them was open at both ends, with the back wall being the wall of the basement. Dr. Zack hurried inside and set up a larger beaker, marked it at 100 CCs, and poured in another CC of sustenance. He then took two electrodes from a rack and put them into the beaker. He returned to the control panel and turned on some switches. The water began to flow into the beaker, "Okay, there's an electrical current going through the water. See the bubbles on the electrodes? It's decomposing the water. If my guess is correct, the electrical field MAY keep the sustenance in a charged state, even if it's diluted below 1%." 

**"Your wave suit, doctor."** Mel reminded him. 

"Thanks! Wave suit on, 80%" 

The trio watched the water level rise up to the mark. It went up past the mark. Up past 10 CCs. 20 CCs. 30CCs. 

Dr. Zack stopped the faucet when the water level almost was at 200 CCs, "That's it. 0.5%. Goodness, that answers a LOT of questions!" 

"My arm!" Cybersix said. 

"What about it?" 

"When I need sustenance, my left arm starts shorting out1 Do you think its related to that?" 

"It's probably a protective mechanism." Dr. Zack hazarded, "Your nervous system may be shocking itself to raise the voltage in your arm to handle a localized drop in sustenance concentration. That, or sustenance may be spontaneously discharging due to lower blood circulation. The sustenance is burned more, so drops below the lower limit there first. Blood circulation does seem a bit less in that arm, judging from the thermal photos." he said absently, looking at the beaker. 

"Thermal photos? What thermal photos?" Cybersix asked suddenly. 

"Uh, ah, I m-m-mean-" Dr. Zack began to stutter. 

"Doctor!" Cybersix insisted. Dr. Zack rarely stuttered: The last time he did, he had been trying to parry a come-on from the amorous school librarian in the Faculty Lounge. 

Surprisingly, Mel came to his rescue, **"What would happen if the electricity is turned off?**" the Fixed Idea mused aloud. 

"Good question!" Dr. Zack grabbed at the hint, "Let's find out!" 

He reached down and flicked off the switch that sent current through the beaker.   
---------------   
The trio stumbled up the staircase and out into the kitchen, coughing, covered with white dust. Cybersix closed the door to the basement to keep the dust clouds from following them. 

"Well, now we know!" Dr. Zack said around his coughs. 

**"Sorry about your basement, Doctor."** Mel said apologetically. 

"Mel, Issac Newton said he saw further by standing on the shoulders of giants. He was referring to his predecessors. In my case, it seems to be the pile of repair bills I've run up after starting to work with this stuff." 

"How powerful IS sustenance, Dr. Zack?" Cybersix asked, using her hat to beat the dust off of herself. 

"Hmm. Gram for gram, it's about 80 times more powerful than TNT, making a vial of sustenance equal to seven NATO hand grenades in explosive power." 

**"You used only one CC in that beaker, Doctor. That explosion was a lot more than a hand grenade."** Mel pointed out. 

"True." Dr. Zack thought a moment, "It must have converted most of its power to heat, since it flashed yellow instead of green, superheating the water and making the effect more, umm, explosive." 

"So why doesn't a creation go boom instead of vanish in a flash of light?" Cybersix asked. 

"I suppose, when you kill the creation, that the nervous system doesn't shut down immediately, being biologically driven. The electrical activity decays slowly and doesn't disappear immediately, like what happened in the beaker." 

**"By the way, where does all the matter go?"** Mel asked. 

"I had originally thought that the majority of the energy released by sustenance was heat energy, but it appears that that is wrong in certain cases, depending on the concentration level. The light emission is rather intense, especially since the source is in and among the cells of the body," Dr. Zack frowned, thinking, "I believe I read something somewhere about light and the human body, but I'll have to check to make sure." 

**"What time is it?**" Mel asked. 

Dr. Zack glanced at his watch, "About 10." 

**"I'd better get going. I may be missed."** Mel said, worry in his voice. 

"Goodbye, brother." Cybersix said. 

**"Goodbye, sister." ** Mel replied, returning her smile. 

Dr. Zack thanked him as he led the way to the front door. After letting him out, he came back to the kitchen, "Now THAT opens up a lot of avenues of research!" he mused aloud, excitedly, "Perhaps there are a few extra terms I should add-" 

"Doctor." 

"What, Cybersix?" Dr. Zack looked up, only to be taken aback by Cybersix's stern look. 

"The thermal photos." 

"Oh. Those. Are you sure you want to-" 

"YES!" 

He batted at his deactivated wave suit, sending up puffs of dust, "Let me get into something fresh first and wash up. Then I'll explain those thermal photos, Miss Seidelman." 

Dr. Zack valiantly suppressed the urge to grin when he saw the look on Cybersix's face, but only long enough to turn quickly and start up the staircase to his bedroom.   
---------------   
*The Xenors are (C) Anay/Megami-Sama. Used with permission.   
**"When in Rome". (C) Sita/Surferchic2000/Sita_uv. Used with permission.   



	14. Past Life Present

Past Life Present, A Cybersix Fanfiction Dressed as Adrian, Cybersix glanced at her watch as she walked down the street. If she didn't hurry, she'd be late for classes. 

As she passed people by, she noted that most of them seemed either worried, angry, fearful, or pensive. Granted, the events of recent months would make anyone nervous: The Native Indian newsstand vendor she'd bought her papers from had moved away after Jose had attacked the city with the Eye. However, the tension seemed much higher today. 

She risked being late by stopping at the newsstand and getting the morning paper. 

One glance at the front page byline story told her everything.   
------------------------   
"H-He's coming HERE???" Jose squeaked, knees shaking. 

"YES! I've had enough of his meddling, and I want him taken care of!" Von Richter's image glared down from the huge painting/Monitor. 

"B-b-but what about Cybersix?" 

"FORGET HER FOR NOW!" The image disappeared. 

Sylvester had been standing off to the side, behind a curtain. He came out, looking shocked, "Did he say to forget Cybersix for now?" he asked, incredulous 

"I'LL ASK THE QUESTIONS AROUND HERE! YOU HEARD HIM! GET MY LATEST PROJECT READY!" 

"But that was supposed to be used on Cybersix the next time we saw her!" 

"It'll work just as good on HIM! Maybe better!" Jose started laughing, "At least he won't be able to jump out of the way like Cybersix! He won't have time to wish he was back in the jungle, where he belongs!"   
---------------------   
"Can you imagine him coming HERE? The nerve of the guy!" 

"Ahh, why don't they just leave things the way they are?" 

"Uppity, no good, useless-" 

The look on Adrian Seidelman's face as he walked in silenced the chatter in the room. Even Lori felt a bit nervous, wondering what had put her Literature teacher into such an ill mood. 

He slammed his books on his desk, "The Merchant of Venice, everyone! Act 3, Scene 1. It's on page 387!" 

There was instant obedience as bags and books banged loudly, then the sound of turned pages. 

"LINE 97! MISS ANDERSON!" 

In a shaky voice, Lori started, "He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason?" 

"MR. GAINES!" 

"Me?" the biggest member of Lori's gang squeaked. 

"YES!" 

He started, "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?" 

"Mr. Tomlinson?" Mr. Seidelman grinned wickedly at the middle member of Lori's gang, "Would you please read for us?" 

He gulped, then started "If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" 

"Do they?" 

"Huh?" 

"Huh WHAT?" 

"Uhhh, What sir?" 

"Do they, or do they not bleed?" 

"Who?" pause, "Sir?" 

"Jews. Christians. Whites. Indians. Blacks." He picked up the paper and waved it, "Do they, or do they not bleed?" he brought it down on the desk with a loud slap, eyes boring through the hapless blonde's head. 

"uhhhh." 

"I see. You don't know," Mr. Seidelman's voice dripped with sarcasm, "DO see Mr. Amato after biology class this afternoon, will you Mr. Tomlinson? He WILL be expecting you, since I'll be seeing him during lunch. He will be more than happy to enlighten you."   
------------------   
"Hey, you look awful, buddy!" Lucas sat down at the patio table they usually used during lunch. 

Adrian glanced up at him, "Ahh, I blew my top in class." 

'Uh oh." Lucas' eyebrows went up, "That bad?" 

"I think I scared them. I don't know if I'll ever get any participation out of them after today. THAT won't go well with my evaluation." 

"Hey, it can't be that bad!" He grinned, "Can it?" 

Adrian took the paper, opened it, turned it, and dropped it on the table so Lucas could read what he indicated. 

"Uh oh. That's bad." 

"What IS the matter with everyone?" Adrian exclaimed angrily. 

"Whoa! Calm down! I personally support the guy! There'll be trouble because lots of people disagree with him. Violently." 

"Well, one of them, Freddie Tomlinson, will be seeing you after class. Would you inform him that indians and blacks bleed red too, like whites?" 

"Will do." Lucas said meekly, a bit alarmed at his friend's anger. The last time he'd seen him this stirred up was when that mechanical circus came to town. Which one he had been right about. "I suppose I should stay away from that speech he'll be making in the park?" 

"No! No! DO go! Please! I'll try to be there too, but don't wait on me. And Lucas?" 

"What?" 

"Please listen to him. Will you? 

"Sure."   
-----------------------   
Sylvester ran into the garage, "Our contact has told us where he's staying! The Meridiana Hilton! Room 1017. Northeast corner of the building. It's a bit high, being on the 10th floor." 

"Bah!" Jose patted the long, round object under the tarp that was being mounted on the truck, "This thing'll get him even if he was on the 107th floor!"   
-----------------------   
Cybersix glanced behind her the moment Data 7's soft pads hit the floor, "Data 7! How are you, brother?" She knelt and hugged his neck. He licked her affectionately, and she laughed softly. 

She stroked him for a few moments, then grew serious, "I'm going to need your help." she said, rising, "I HAVE to see someone tonight." she looked grim, "I'm SURE there's going to be trouble!" 

The panther gave a low growl and lowered his head, _"I'm with you!"_   
----------------------   
"He'll be safe enough here!" Henrique insisted. 

The young man paced the room, "I don't like this! I don't like this one bit!" 

"So, Raoul, you think we should turn tail and run back to the jungle?" a man of native indian descent on the sofa asked, amused. 

The old black man sitting next to him shook his head and chuckled, "You'd stand a better chance against the panthers, both animal and human, in the jungle than here in Meridiana." 

His partner on the sofa glanced at the old man, "No way, Santos! It took too long to get this opportunity for us to turn back! We MUST press forward! We can't afford to allow ourselves be scared now!" 

Raoul waved his hands, "Ahh, there's no stopping you, is there Miguel?" 

Henrique glanced at Miguel with admiration, "I'll check on the guards posted downstairs in the lobby. Good night, gentlemen." 

"Good night, Detective. I feel we're in good hands." Miguel replied, getting up to get a drink of water from the pitcher on the table. 

Another man entered, "I've checked everything. It's safe." 

"Thanks D-" Miguel started, only to be interrupted when a window exploded with a crash. 

A large black object hit the carpet with a loud thud, unwound, and stood erect, shouting "EVERYONE! OUT!" 

"WHAT IS THIS?" the man who had just entered shouted at Cybersix. 

She grabbed the round table and lifted it easily. 

"Oh NO! It's one of HIS creatures!" Santos shouted, rising from his sofa, shaking. 

Cybersix flung the table across the room and through the door, tearing a gaping hole in the wall with a loud crash, "OUT!!" she shouted again. 

The jungle scream of a panther came from outside, through the window. Eyes wild, Cybersix grabbed the two men standing and leaped toward the hole in the wall. She flung them down the hall, turned, and saw the other two men running out of the room. 

Her sensitive ears picked up an all too familiar voice, screeching a familiar command. 

"FIRE!" 

"DOWN!" She sprang at them and tackled them, forcing them to the floor beside the table. 

The outside wall of the room seemed to fly apart, wood and mortar board spraying through the room. The carpet of the floor suddenly seemed to come alive, as if covering huge grasshoppers. The cieling flew apart at the same time, spackling and mortar board flying everywhere. It seemed as if a tornado was tearing through the room. 

As soon as it started, it stopped. There were shouts and gunshots heard outside, followed by the squeal of tires and the roar of a powerful engine. 

The two men she had forced to the floor got up and ran down the hall to join their companions. For her part, Cybersix waited until the majority of the large pieces in the room had stopped falling, then got up. Blinking, she stepped into the room and surveyed the devastation. 

The room looked as if thirty men with power hammers and sledgehammers had finished eight hours of work on it. 

Shaking her head, Cybersix bent down and picked up a large piece of wood with a ragged hole in it. It was twice as wide as her thumb. _"What has Jose gotten his hands on now?"_ she wondered, shuddering at the ravenous ferocity of the new weapon in the clone's arsenal. 

Footsteps pounded in the hallway, "IS EVERYONE OKAY?" A booming voice yelled, "YOU TWO WATCH THEM! GET THEM DOWNSTAIRS!" More footsteps, and Henrique entered the room, "Oh my-" he stopped, staring also at the destruction. 

"No one is safe in this hotel!" Cybersix said authoritatively, "Those men MUST be taken elsewhere!" 

"Cybersix?" Henrique asked, obviously surprised. 

She spared him a small smile, knowing he was Julian's good friend, "Detective Henrique." she nodded, "Don't you have any other place to keep them?" 

Henrique frowned and shook his head, looking distressed, "I-don't think so." 

"Well, I do!" she said.   
--------------------   
Henrique came out of the elevator, "Report!" he demanded. 

"We're still checking the 11th and 12th floors, as well as the roof, Henrique." an officer reported to him, "They are normally assigned to tour groups, but luckily, the last group left this morning." 

Miguel put a hand on his friend's shoulder, keeping him from yelling at Henrique, "Detective Henrique, where are we going to stay now?" 

"I've received an unusual recommendation. One that I intend to follow up." 

"From that woman in black leather?" he asked, puzzled. 

"Yes." 

"Are you sure you can trust her?" Santos asked nervously. 

Henrique smiled, "We have a mutual friend. My instincts tell me to trust her." 

"Well, any place is better than running back to the jungle." Miguel declared firmly. 

Santos shook his head, "Mama Cornazon didn't raise a coward, did she?" 

"Only when she came after me with daddy's belt!" Miguel Cornazon grinned.   
-------------------   
"COME ON YOU IDIOTS! SET IT UP!" Jose screeched at the Fixed Ideas after the truck skidded to a halt. They piled out, pulled the tarp off, and began to prepare the weapon for use again, undoing the shipping straps that kept it from sliding off. 

"Looks like he might be on the second floor." Sylvester said, noting the rooms with the lights on. 

"Bah! We'll tear the whole building apart with-" Jose started, only to note Sylvester staring at him, "WHAT IS IT!?" 

"Uhhh." Sylvester pointed. 

Jose glanced down. Two bright red dots with a strange, speckly appearance, were dancing on his tie. 

Suddenly, one speckly red dot climbed up his tie, up his neck, and settled on the bridge of his glasses. Jose paled when he saw that the light came from a barrel-shaped object that had appeared from a corner of the building they were going to attack. 

Equally suddenly, he remembered why the address of this particular townhouse had seemed familiar... 

"GET BACK INSIDE!" He screeched, turning white as a sheet, "BACK INSIDE! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" 

"But-" Sylvester started. 

He decided to obey when Jose hopped up onto the truck's front seat, totally unaided. He climbed in too, unaware that the two red dots had moved to the rear two of the three axles of the truck. 

The drone of two machine guns cut through the night stillness. The bullets shot by the two auto-tracking machine guns cut through the night air and the tires. They popped loudly and deflated, making the truck lurch violently to one side. Unsecured by the shipping straps, the huge object on the truck tore from its moorings on the truck bed, slid off and dropped on its side in the middle of the road. 

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Jose screamed, climbing through the window and jumping onto the back of a passing Fixed Idea. 

"WHAT ABOUT OUR MISSION?" Sylvester shouted as he tumbled out of the truck cab. 

" LET THE BACKUP FINISH THE MISSION!" 

The motley band fled into the park.   
------------------   
Cybersix and Data-7 watched with amusement as Von Richter's troops scattered throughout the park, hearing the occasional Fixed Idea hit the random tree. "Ouch!" she chuckled at one particularly loud thump that was followed by indistinct shouting, "THAT one must have been carrying Jose!" 

Data 7 growled and looked at the townhouse. 

"You're right." She stood up, a pensive look on her face, "If Von Richter's got a backup plan, then Cornazon and his friends are still not safe! Let's go!" 

Her brother huffed his agreement. He leaped down to the street and ran around the side, obviously intending to enter through the excape route Dr. Zack had modified to allow him access. 

Cybersix leaped onto the wall, ran along the top to the side opposite the library window, and jumped onto the ledge. Leaning down, she peered through the window and noted that the library was full of people: the four that were in the hotel room, Dr. Zack, Henrique, and a uniformed officer. 

Something about one of the guests tickled a memory in the back of her mind, but she couldn't pull it out into full view. A tad displeased that her memory wasn't helping the situation, she lightly tapped on the window.   
-------------------   
"Well Dinazo, are you STILL worried about security?" Cornazon laughed at his friend. 

"I think we can sleep well tonight!" Dinazo agreed, looking quite relieved. 

"That's right!" Henrique spoke into his cellphone, " Send everything you have to spare the northeast corner of the central park! Whatever hit the hotel is lying in the middle of the street now! I want it secured and examined!" He hung up, pushed the antenna down, and stuck it back into his back pocket, "We seem to be okay for now." 

Cornazon turned to Dr. Zack, "Well, thank you for letting us stay in your townhouse, Dr. Zacharias! AND for taking care of that threat to us!" 

"It is a distinct honor for me to have you here, Mr. Cornazon," Dr. Zack said with pleasure as he turned from the slide-away monitor, "I have followed your struggle for black and native indian rights for a long time, and agree that imitating Dr. Martin Luther King's methods here in South America is the best strategy to follow." 

He nodded in response, "Our experiences, and the reactions we're getting, are pretty much mirroring his. I derive a lot of comfort and strength from being able to believe that there is a chance that we may succeed as well as he did." 

"I hope that we will outdo the Yanquis in that area." 

Cornazon grinned, "As a matter of fact, that particular angle has played rather well on this continent." 

Dr. Zack grinned too, then turned thoughtful. He was about to say something, but everyone's attention was pulled to the window when a tapping sound came from it. 

"Ah! The heroine of the hour!" Dr. Zack grinned, "House! Open Library window!" 

"Easy, Fergas!" Henrique ordered the officer, who had reached for his gun, "She's okay! Stand down!" 

Cybersix stepped through the window into the room. She surveyed everyone, and then her eyes turned to the old black man. 

They regarded each other for a few long moments. 

She started, recognizing him. She held out her left arm and pulled her sleeve up to show him her tattoo. 

"Oh my GOD!" Santos breathed after glancing at her arm, "It IS you!" 

"Yes." she nodded, lower lip trembling, her eyes glittering. 

She suddenly rushed toward him. 

POW! Wood splinters flew from the wall. 

Henrique turned to see Officer Fergas with his gun drawn, turning to track Cybersix, who would have caught the bullet if she hadn't moved at that instant, "FERGAS!" he yelled. 

POW! 

The bullet Fergas fired seemed to go through Cybersix in mid dive as she knocked Santos down. There was a roar from the floor below. 

POW! POW! POW! 

Henrique stared at the three small bullet holes that had suddenly appeared on the side of Fergas' head. The officer had a strange look on his face as he swayed slightly. 

"OUT THE WINDOW!" Dr. Zack shouted, waving the pistol he held at the window, "THROW HIM OUT THE WINDOW! NOW!" 

Henrique blinked, then grabbed Fergas's body as it keeled over, rushed to the window Cybersix had used to enter, and tossed it through. The body hit the ground with a muffled thud. 

Seconds later, it flared a bright green, illuminating the yard. 

"Ahhh! I was wondering how Jose found out you were here!" Dr. Zack said, returning his pistol to his shoulder holster. 

Data 7 bounded into the room, snarling and looking about. 

"Its okay, Data 7!" Dr. Zack told him, "The Techno's gone." 

"Makes sense now," Henrique turned from the window, "Where we were hiding Cornazon was on a need-to-know basis, so only I and the assigned police officers knew. Fergas must have phoned his tip in, or probably used a cell phone." He shook his head, "Fergas was on the fast track too. We'd have had the same situation as with the former Chief!" 

"By the way, why did you want him thrown out the window?" Dinazo asked Dr. Zack. 

"The dissolution process emits huge amounts of beta radiation," Dr. Zack said, "Tears up the lungs for starters. And very likely causes cancers too." 

Cornazon and Raoul helped Santos and Cybersix off the floor, "Are you okay, miss?" Cornazon asked her. 

"I'm fine. I can't say much for this," she said, ruefully poking a finger through one of the five bullet holes in her velvet and black cape, "How is Santos?" 

Both men did a double take, "You know Santos?" Raoul asked, blinking, "But you're a Von Richter creation! Your strength and your tattoo prove it!" 

"True. But I think Santos knows me too, don't you?" she asked him, "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine, Angel." he looked her up and down, "My! Have you grown! And so beautiful too!"   
------------------   
"-and so helpful too!" Santos recounted, "Although sometimes her eagerness caused a bit of a problem. For instance-" 

"OH NO! You're not going to tell THAT one, are you??" Cybersix gasped, blushing. 

"We were bringing the boats in." he continued, heedless of Cybersix's embarassment, "We had a great catch, and really needed some help to beach the boats, so Juanito tossed her the line to Elio's boat. She pulled a bit too eagerly and broke the rope!" 

"Didn't know your own strength, eh?" Dr. Zack chuckled, lighting his pipe. 

"He replaced the rope, of course. Which was a mistake." Santos glanced at her, grinning. 

She moaned and covered her face with her hands. 

"Why was that?" Cornazon asked. 

"Because the next catch was a good one too, so we needed help to beach the boats again. She wanted to help, and Elio, God bless his soul, just could never say 'no' to his little girl, so he tossed her the rope to his boat again. Only this time, when she pulled on it, she tore the gunwhale off the bow, sinking her papa's boat in two feet of water!" 

"That was SO embarassing!" Cybersix shook her head, hands still covering her face. 

Everyone laughed except Santos, who was looking at Cybersix, "Well, he couldn't go out for the next few days, until he had repaired his boat of course," Santos continued, a bit more quietly this time, "He never did make it back out to sea." 

"He couldn't repair the boat?" Dinazo asked. 

"Cybersix. Are you okay?" Raoul asked suddenly. 

She nodded, but a tear rolled out from under her hands onto her chin as her shoulders shook. 

Santos sighed, put his arm around her heaving shoulders, and pulled her close to him, "I'm sorry about Elio. We all were. He was a good man. A real saint. We thought you were dead, killed by those men Von Richter had sent." 

"I-I was playing on the beach when I heard the gunshots." she said, wiping at her red eyes, "I came running and saw him-" She swallowed hard, "I knew that if I'd stayed, they'd just come back and kill you and the others, so I left." she finished defensively. 

"Remember Margarite?" Santos asked her. 

She nodded, "She always had her eye on Papa." she said, smiling with a hint of fondness, "He would have been a good catch," She laughed, "She fed me sweets to convince him she'd be a good mother! How is she doing?" 

"She's doing fine. She overheard those men and Elio talking." 

Cybersix paled, "She did?" 

"Elio had claimed to have sexually abused you, then sold you off to a pimp from Meridiana to buy his boat after he tired of you." 

"He did nothing of-" Cybersix protested, stopping when Santos raised a hand. 

"I know. We all knew it was a lie. Margarite said they got really angry with him and shot him after hearing that. She thinks he provoked them deliberately to get rid of them before you came." Santos sighed, "We know he loved you dearly, and would never have done anything like that to you. He was a good man. Brave too in his effort to save you from them." 

Cornazon sighed also, "A lot of good, brave men have died resisting Von Richter's rule in the Amazon. I would have been next tonight, if it wasn't for you." 

"Even though Meridiana has been in the dark about the source of its troubles, we jungle natives knew." Dinazo said, "We always knew. We also knew one of his creatures was fighting him, for Meridiana would have fallen months earlier." 

Cornazon reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, and their eyes locked, "Now we know who's standing between Meridiana and the madman. It makes my goal of racial reconciliation and cooperation even more important than ever." 

Cybersix smiled lopsidedly, "That's wonderful, but what does that have to do with me and Von Richter?" 

"Elio saw past your skin color, Cybersix. He saw past your origins. Past your master. He saw someone who needed help, and gave it, even when it cost him his life. Judging by what you've done here, Cybersix, and if it means anything to you, by rescuing you, Elio did more to liberate the Amazon than any other man who's died at Von Richter's hands. If one man, putting his prejudices aside, has done so much, then what could a united continent do?" 

"I never forgot Papa." she whispered, "I never forgot any of you. I couldn't help Papa then, but I can help others now. No child should ever lose their parents and feel the pain or loss I've felt all these years. Not if I can help it." 

"I was Elio's best friend," Santos said, "He would have been very proud at what you've been doing here in Meridiana." 

"And that's why we came here to Meridiana, because we wanted to tell the people that the jungle natives also were suffering under the same human monster who was destroying this city." Cornazon continued, "Only by City and Jungle working together will he be defeated." 

Henrique walked in, putting away his cell phone, "I just got off the line from the mayor. I'm afraid that alliance between City and Jungle is going to have to wait." 

"What?" Dinazo protested as they all rose from their chairs. 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cornazon, but the mayor has called off your rally. 'Too dangerous.' he said." 

"But that-that thing outside!" Cybersix waved, "Jose can't do anything without it now!" 

"Are you SURE he doesn't have anything else?" Henrique asked, "More importantly, can you convince the mayor of that?" 

She sighed, resigned. So did the others. 

"What WAS it, by the way?" Dr. Zack asked. 

"A 40 millimeter aircraft cannon, stolen from the United States Air Force several months ago. It can spit out 2000 rounds a minute." 

Dr. Zack nodded, "Meant for air-to-air combat against another fighter jet, not a hotel room." he said, noting Cybersix's grimace. 

"Please," Cornazon turned to Henrique, "Perhaps if I talked to him for a few minutes, perhaps he would-" 

"He's not in a very good mood to talk, Mr. Cornazon." Henrique sighed, "Not after talking with the surviving family members." 

"Surviving!?" Cybersix gasped, shocked. 

"You mean-" Cornazon paled. 

"There was a cleaning crew on the 12th floor when Jose attacked. There are five children in Meridiana who won't see their mothers alive ever again."   
--------------------   
**"I SENT YOU TO ELIMINATE A MERE HUMAN, AND YOU'VE STILL FAILED!"** Von Richter's voice boomed throughout the mansion as his image shouted at Jose, who shook like a leaf in front of the screen. 

"B-But Father, Cyb-" Jose stammered. 

**"-WAS NO WHERE NEARBY, ACCORDING TO MY SOURCES! YOU'VE FAILED ME AGAIN!"**

Highly irritated, the image flickered and disappered, shrinking to a bright dot at the very center of the screen. 

"GGGGRRRRR!" Jose pulled at his hair in frustration, hopping up and down.   
--------------------   
Von Richter sat in front of the console for a long time, thinking. 

Jose. Data 7. Terra. The Giant Mollusk. The Goblins. The Bird. The Eye. Elaine. Grizelda. 

All sent against the renegade cyber. 

All Failures. 

Von Richter sighed, "I guess, if I want something DONE, I'll have to go there and DO IT MYSELF!" 

He turned to a techno, "I still have that observatory several miles outside of Meridiana, don't I?" 

"Yes sir!" 

He waved at the creatures floating in the growth tubes round him before turning to the console, "I want these moved there!" he ordered. 

"M-Moved?" 

"Yes. They're giving me problems, and I don't want to be away from them too long!" He started typing some commands into his computer console. 

"We're going to Meridiana?" 

"Yes! Now get going and leave me!" 

Fixed Ideas and techos ran about, beginning to prepare the tubes for shipment, while Von Richter continued to enter orders and monitor the progress of the creation blindly following his commands. 

_"Hah! So that fool Zacharias thinks I didn't know what sustenance was capable of, does he? Well, we'll see about THAT!"_ he thought as he watched the countdown of the small prototype reach zero.   
--------------------   
The bell on the ancient teletype rang five times, irritating the US Air Force officer assigned to Space Command, who was eating his lunch. Groaning, he put his sandwich down and walked over to the teletype to look at the three lines it printed out, _"Vela 3B reports a five kit event in the South Atlantic, 400 klicks off the Argentine coast? Damn, why the hell do we bother keeping 70's crap like this running?"_

Shaking his head, the officer tore the sheet off the teletype, went back to his desk, and pulled out a form, _ "That's too low a yield to be technically possible, and not even close to anyone remotely near joining The Club. I'll report this as a glitch, and maybe they'll finally shoot that old nag and put it out of our misery!"_   
---------------------   
"Sometimes, the difference between a villian and a hero might be a noble cause under attack by a deadly enemy." Ptah Aegyptus   
  



	15. Final Confrontation, Part 1

Final Confrontation Final Confrontation: Part 1 

This chapter takes place during Episode 13. Sorry, but it was getting too long.   
Author's note: There are anomalies in the cartoon that this fanfic will attempt to explain.   
----------------------------   
_"Hmm. I wonder what THIS is all about?"_ Fixed Idea 4 wondered as the two army trucks pulled up at the observatory. He piled out with all the others and stood in line. 

"Go to the barracks!" the Techno ordered, "Wait there until further orders!" 

Fixed Idea 4 glanced up the steep wall of the observatory and caught sight of a person standing at the window, watching their movements. There was a glint that seemed to come from where an eye was, then the head turned so he could see the profile. 

_"OH SHIT! What the hell is HE doing here?"_ Fixed Idea 4 wondered. He pretended to look at a pretty flower so that he was last in line. He then fell in, walked a little way, then ducked into the observatory through the side door. He quickly dashed through the corridors to the ventilation room. He cut off the power to the AC units, ran to one of the air junction boxes, pulled off the screen, and stuck his head inside. 

He faintly heard Jose's voice and focussed on it, "REMARKABLE! But what is it?" 

Laugher, "I call it the Isle of Doom." 

_"THAT doesn't sound good!"_ He thought, straining to filter out the voices from everyone else's. 

"It's a living bomb! At midnight it will arrive at central Meridiana. Then, It will explode." 

_"It's him all right! I'd better get moving!"_ he thought as he replaced the grating, turned the power back on, then sneaked back out to the barracks, arriving just when a Techno was starting to issue orders. 

_"Oh no! Not Tiny!"_ he groaned inwardly the moment he saw the double-sized Fixed Idea standing in the center of the group, basking in the oohs and aahs of his brothers. 

Thankfully, he was assigned to permiter duty. He selected a bazooka and was led to his station in the forest by the Techno. 

Ten minutes later, he was leaping through the forest toward Meridiana.   
--------------------   
Dr. Zack sighed as he glanced through the next chapter of the physics textbook, _"Now how am I going to get them all through the Miliken oil drop experiment with only two setups?"_ he wondered. 

The phone rang. He picked it up, "Yes?" he asked the receptionist. 

"Urgent phone call from the Mayor's office, Dr. Zack." 

_"Finally! Maybe the pompous old fart has just seen the light!"_ he thought, his mood lifting, "Put him through!" 

"Dr. Zacharias?" The voice sounded hollow, as if it was on a speaker phone. 

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor. To what do I owe this call?" 

"You don't know?" 

"No." 

"Have you looked out into the harbor lately?" 

"No. Why?" 

"Go look." 

Mystified, Dr. Zack got up, went next door to the Physics lab, and looked out the windows to the harbor. 

He scrambled to get the telescope out of the closet and set it up on a desk to get a better look at the island that had suddenly appeared in the harbor. 

The glowing red ball embedded in the island caught his eye. He quickly returned to his desk and grabbed the phone, "Yes! What is it?" 

"I was about to ask you!" 

"A Von Richter creation, without a doubt!" Dr. Zack's anger rose, "Dammit! I've warned you repeatedly until I'm blue in the face!" 

"The army company you wanted stationed here wouldn't have been able to handle THAT!" 

"Uhhh, true!" he bitterly conceded, "Have you called the capitol and talked to the Presidente?" 

"The land lines have been cut!" A woman's voice came in. 

"Who's that? Is that you, Inez?" 

"Yes, Tony." Inez Tarras replied. 

"Have you considered evacuating the city?" he asked Meridiana's Emergency Director. 

"Tony, we've always known that the way this city is nestled in these hills, it's almost impossible to evacuate everyone in less than three days. That-thing-will be here in less than six hours." 

He sighed, "So why call ME?" 

"Doctor, you're the most intelligent man I know of in Meridiana." the mayor said, "Can you possibly be able to give us a clue of how to stop it?" 

Dr. Zack thought for a few minutes, biting his lip, "Do you have a helicopter available?" 

"Yes!" Inez replied, "The police chopper at the helipad. I'll have the pilot look for you. Do you need help getting there?" 

"I don't think so, especially since it looks as if you're not going to bother with a formal order to evacuate the city." 

"Do you need any equipment?" 

"Hmm. Does the city public works department have any subsoil analysis equipment?" 

"The type that uses small explosions to probe the layout of the soil?" Inez asked him. 

"Yes." 

"I think we do." 

"I'll need it, and someone to be able to interpret the results. Also, some of those air tanks firemen use to get into buildings to fight fires." 

"We'll have them there." 

"Good. I'll do what I can." 

"Thank you, Dr. Zacharias!" The mayor said with feeling, "You're a real citizen!" 

"Thank you. I wish you were a real mayor." Dr. Zack replied, then hung up. 

He was packing his briefcase when he heard Lucas from outside, yelling "Are you going to tell me what this is all about?"   
---------------------   
Dr. Zack slammed the door to his townhouse shut, threw his briefcase aside, and went upstairs to his bedroom. He fished out a second wave suit from his drawer and a pair of overalls. 

**"Isn't it a bit warm for that?"**

He whirled around to see a Fixed Idea filling the doorway, "Mel! How did you-" 

**"Through the window. Sorry about the ledge. And the window frame."**

Dr. Zack grimaced, dreading the repair bill for the ornate facade of his townhouse, "So what are you doing here?" 

Mel looked grim, **"We've got trouble."**

Dr. Zack pulled his jacket off, "Fill me in while I change."   
--------------------   
Mel looked around at the library as Dr. Zack twirled the combination to his wall safe. His eyes rested on a large, beautifully wrapped box, tied with a crimson red bow edged in gold, sitting on the Louis XIV chair, **"What's that, Doctor?"** he asked. 

"What?" Dr. Zack asked, reaching into the safe and pulling out a picture frame. 

**"That box."**

"Oh that? A gift I regret the recipient won't be able to get." he said sadly, removing the picture from the frame and slipping it into the breast pocket of the overalls he wore, "Let's get going." 

They went outside. Dr. Zack hailed a large taxi-van. 

"Where to?" the driver asked. He shot a glance at Mel, clearly worried about his van as it creaked when he got inside. 

"Do you know where the Police helicopter pad is?" Dr. Zack asked him. 

"Sure. North part of town." 

"Take us there!"   
-------------------   
_"NO!"_ Cybersix's mind screamed the moment she saw the demolished ledge and library window frame. Heart pounding, she leaped from the wall, through the window, and landed, ready for battle. 

The room looked quite normal. She listened for any suspicious noises, but heard nothing but the rush of her own blood. 

She quickly moved through the townhouse, searching, but found nothing out of the ordinary, except that Dr. Zack's briefcase was still in the kitchen and not upstairs in the library, where it should have been. She took it upstairs, since what she needed was up there anyhow. 

Dropping the briefcase beside Dr. Zack's easy chair, she opened his tobacco box, riffled through it, and found the two vials of sustenance he kept there. She took one, closed the box, and drank the contents, feeling the fire of the liquid coursing through her veins, feeling at once empowered and ashamed of her dependency, _"Oh, if only-"_ she started to think, only to catch sight of the ornately wrapped box sitting in her chair. 

Her curiosity aroused, she went to the box, noticed the card, lifted the corner with her little finger, and read: "To Cybersix, with affection, Tony". 

"Ohhh! He SHOULDN'T HAV_E!_" she exclaimed aloud despite herself, the rush of emotions making her eyes blur as they welled a little. She picked up the present and looked it over. It was so prettily wrapped, she dreaded to open it. But open it she must. 

Inside, wrapped in tissue paper, was a black and scarlet cape. Gratfully, Cybersix pulled off her oft-sewn and patched cape and put on the new one, "_Pretty good! Looks and feels like the old one. No, it has little weights along the bottom, probably to keep the edges from curling."_ she thought appreciatively as she whirled around, getting a sense how it fell about her legs. She took the old one and draped it over the arm of Dr. Zack's easy chair and put the opened box in it too, to make sure he saw that she had gotten it. 

It was still daylight. She didn't want to go to Lucas' house when she might be seen and draw attention to him. Just as well: She felt like taking a last tour of the city. 

Strange how beautiful everything looked now.   
------------------   
"Good thing we're not going far!" the helicopter pilot shouted to Dr. Zack, "All this equipment and your friend are pretty heavy!" 

"We'll need every bit of it, and him!" Dr. Zack yelled back. 

"There's Meridiana High School!" the pilot pointed downwards as the chopper raced over the housetops. 

A heavy finger tapped on Dr. Zack's shoulder. He leaned back, "What?" 

Mel was silent, but pointed off to the right. Dr. Zack looked, and caught the flash of black and velvet leaping between two buildings, then running across the top of the building. 

"She's on the move, since it's still daylight!" Mel shouted to Dr. Zack. 

"See Data 7?" Dr. Zack asked. 

Mel shook his head. 

"Can't pick her up with this weight, Doctor!" The pilot shouted. 

"You know her?" Dr. Zack asked him, surprised. 

"All I know about her is what I've heard from Detective Henrique. All good!" He glanced over at the running figure, "Do you think she can do anything against that thing?" 

"Not directly, I'm sure. Knowledge is power, though, so our mission is as important as hers is!" 

The pilot nodded, "Yes Doctor!" 

**"She'll come up with a plan!" **Mel said confidently, not needing to shout.   
----------------   
The chopper pilot settled down on the huge, living island. Dr. Zack, Mel, and Grimes, the DW&P employee who volunteered to accompany them and interpret the "subsoil" readings, leaped out. Mel and the technician began unloading. 

"This thing seems to be heading to land, Doctor." The pilot told him as he put the chopper on stand-by, "We're fairly level now, but when it starts climbing over things, I may not be able to take off." 

"Who's in charge of this mission?" Dr. Zack asked him. 

"You are, sir. My orders came from the Mayor himself." 

Dr. Zack nodded, then went to Grimes, "Let's start here and try to get an idea of what's inside." 

**"Umm, Dr. Zack?"** Mel said hesitantly, noting the explosives, **"Are you sure its safe to set these off here? I mean, it IS a bomb, and shooting those off could set the thing off prematurely."**

"Probably not." Dr. Zack said, "If those could set it off, then so could a single bomb from a jet fighter. I doubt Von Richter would design a creature that would blow up on anything else but his own orders." 

Mel held up a finger and nodded, grinning, as if to say, _"Score one for the Doctor."_   
-----------------   
"It's hollow." Grimes announced. 

**"What?" ** Mel blinked, **"Hollow?"**

"Makes sense." the pilot said, looking at the crude diagram Grimes had drawn, "Look where the bottom of this thing is relative to the waterline. It's floating awfully high in the water." 

**"And what about that?"** Mel jerked a thumb behind him, toward the glowing red sphere. 

"Well, it's more like an inner tube." Grimes said, "That red thing seems to be in the plug filling the center hole of the tube. The tube itself is filled with gas." 

"I've been looking at it." Dr. Zack said, "The plug is it's brain, and the sphere is sitting above it, suspended in jelly." 

**"The control center?"** Mel hazarded. 

"Or the bomb itself." Dr. Zack said, "Or both." 

"I don't know about that." Grimes said, pointing at the diagram, "There seems to be a rather largish chamber suspended between the brain and the inner tube. Here." 

"How far down?" Dr. Zack asked. 

"It's fairly tall. I think the top part is not more than 15 meters down." 

"Where? Mark it out!"   
------------------   
"WHAT?" The pilot stared at Dr. Zack. 

"Take Grimes and Mel and return to Meridiana." Dr. Zack repeated. 

"Dr. Zacharias, what do you expect to do alone here?" Grimes asked. 

"Just do it. Am I in charge? That's an order!" 

Mel didn't say anything, but picked up the pilot and Grimes and carried them to the chopper. Dr. Zack started looking over the air breathing gear, trying to figure out how to turn it on. He heard the whine of the chopper starting up, _"Good!"_ he thought, _"I don't want anyone seeing what I'm about to do."_

He figured that the chamber might contain the control center, and that the red sphere must be the bomb. If he got in, he figured he could perhaps divert the monster back out to sea. 

He heard the chopper lift. Out the cornter of his eye, he saw it head back toward Meridiana. 

**"We're alone now."**

Dr. Zack nearly jumped out of his skin at Mel's voice, "MEL! I thought I told you to leave!" 

He shrugged, **"They were more ready to leave when I told them I was staying."**

Dr. Zack just sighed, "Help me get this thing on. Do you know how to turn it on?" 

**"Yes."** Mel helped him, turned it on, then looked at the mark on the skin of the monster under their feet, **"How do you plan to get inside?"** he asked. 

"Well, I suppose I can trust you with this." Dr. Zack said, turning and staring at the mark. 

Mel blinked when he saw space ripple, then open up into a hole with a steel floor 8 feet on the other side. Air rushed out through the hole. 

"How does it smell to you?" Dr. Zack asked, trying to keep the hole open. 

**"A tad stale."**

Before Dr. Zack could stop him, Mel grabbed a bag of equipment and jumped down through the hole onto the floor. He stood up, sniffing, **"It's livable. Jump down, and I'll catch you."**

This was the first time Dr. Zack tried jumping through a hole of his own making. Hoping it wouldn't snap shut when he was halfway through, he jumped down, through the hole, into the Isle of Doom.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	16. Final Confrontation, Part 2

This chapter takes place during Episode 13.   
Author's note: There are anomalies in the cartoon that this fanfic will attempt to explain. I'm not sure if I got the timeline down right.   
----------------------------   
"HE DID WHAT??" 

The pilot of the police chopper winced on his side of the connection, "He ordered us off, Mayor!" the pilot explained, "His companion looked like one of those green goons, but sure didn't act like one. That is, until he picked us up by the scruff of our necks to force us to follow Dr. Zacharias' orders. He stayed with him, though, so the Doctor's got plenty of muscle to help him." 

"Well, he must have found something!" the mayor replied, still irritated, "Joe, at the lighthouse, has noticed that there's nobody on it right now. Either they jumped off or somehow got inside!" 

"Do you have any details on what that thing is like?" Inez asked. 

"It's built like an inner-tube inflated with air, with the center hole filled with a large brain suspended at the bottom of a plug of jelly. That glowing ball is suspended in the jelly, dead center above the brain. It might be the control module. Or it might be a bomb. We couldn't tell. Grimes found a tall chamber of some sort on the leading edge and marked where it came closest to the surface, about 15 meters down. That's when Dr. Zack ordered us off." 

"How much of the monster is underwater??" Inez asked. 

"Not much. Its design makes it ride pretty high on the water." 

"Damn!" she cursed, "I was hoping that it went down so deep, it would go aground far offshore! We've been tracking it, and we can tell its following the dredged shipping channel. If its as shallow as you say, it'll crawl onto land at the dock area without any trouble!"   
----------------------------   
The hole vanished the moment Dr. Zack's attention was diverted by Mel's huge hands catching him and letting him down to the floor. 

The room was pitch black. Dr. Zack heard Mel rummaging around in the bag. He took the opportunity to shrug off the air tanks that he now didn't need any more. The light of a flashlight Illuminated the room, **"Here. Take this one."** Mel said, handing it to Dr. Zack after using it to find another flashlight. 

They surveyed the room. It was about 10 meters wide and deep, and about 5 meters high. 

**"Do you smell it?"** Mel asked when they got back together to compare observations. 

"Yes, but I can't place it." Dr. Zack replied, trying to recognize the barely tangible, burnt odor. 

**"It smells like a creation just pulled from the tank and left to dry out."** Mel said. 

"Sustenance." Dr. Zack nodded, "This room was a sustenance storage chamber." he flicked his flashlight to a corner, "That makes sense given those holes in the floor to let it drain out. But how do we get out?" 

**"Well, we can use that trick of yours that got us in here."** Mel suggested. 

Dr. Zack shook his head, "I can do it only three times a day if I'm making holes big enough for us to pass through. And that's if I eat candy bars to restore my blood sugar levels. I can do it one more time accurately, but the third time is going to be rather inaccurate." 

**"Have you tried it a fourth time?"** Mel asked. 

"Yes," Dr. Zack said, chagrined, "I have no idea how far down the other end was, but the hole was small, so not much magma shot out." 

**"Oh." **Mel blinked, **"Well then, we shall have to be inventive, won't we?"**

He walked around, hitting the walls with his fist, **"Here. This wall doesn't have flesh pressing against it."**

"Ah!" Dr. Zack's flashlight illuminated a curved weld, "This was the access manway, now welded shut." 

**"Um hmm."** Mel nodded, **"But it might be a tank with sustenance on the other side."**

Dr. Zack grinned, "Luckily, my submolecular vision can penetrate up to a yard through anything, and hardly takes any energy at all." 

Mel grinned back, **"X Ray vision, like Superman?"**

"No, but I'll be able to tell what's filling the space on the other side." Dr. Zack gazed at the foot of the wall for a half minute, "It's air on the other side." He looked at the wall speculatively. 

**"Too bad we don't have explosives."** Mel remarked. 

"Yes. We forgot that too. You know, that weld looks like it was made in a hurry. It may be brittle and break easily." 

Mel motioned Dr. Zack aside, stepped back, ran at the wall, leaped, and rammed his heels against the weld, spinning and landing on his feet at the recoil. There was a loud snapping sound in addition to the loud BONG as the steel chamber resonated with the blow. A crack several centimeters long appeared, **"On the money, Doctor!"** Mel grinned. 

"What?" 

**"You were right!"**

"I can't hear you! My ears are ringing!"   
--------------------------------------   
After five minutes of leaping and kicking at the badly welded access manway, enough cracks developed for Mel to force it open wide enough to let both of them through. They stepped out onto a fire escaoe. "This looks like the main access stairwell." Dr. Zack speculated, "Clever, adapting a fire escape stairway like that." 

**"What is THAT for?"** Mel pointed to a large pipe rising up from the corner. Two smaller pipes came out of the large pipe every half meter, turned, and went in (and presumably through) the wall into the creation on the other side. The large pipe stopped just short of the ceiling. 

"I don't know. Let's start looking for clues on how this thing ticks." 

They went down the stairs, passing several levels with no doors, but which did have obvious signs of access manways welded shut. Dr. Zack paused to check the contents of each, but they all had air. Each level also had that large pipe that went from floor to ceiling, with the smaller pipes coming from it and going through the wall every half meter. 

They finally reached the bottom of the stairwell. The sealed room in this level had a meter and a half of sustenance in it. In addition, the large pipe that they had been noting in the upper levels actually came out from within the room, ran along the floor, turned at the wall, and went up through the ceiling. 

Dr. Zack felt at the pipe that came out of the room. Perking up, he then got down and pressed his ear against it, "It's vibrating slightly. Probably from a pump in there." 

Mel snapped his fingers, **"This creation could not possibly get enough food to eat, not with it being so big that it would scare everything away before it got into reach! It's living off of sustenance!"**

Dr. Zack got up, "You're right! Cybersix told me how Von Richter grew his creations. He doesn't have a tank big enough to grow this creation, so he had to grow it in the ocean and try to feed it sustenance internally rather than externally! This structure must serve a function similar to a chick's yolk sac, which feeds it while it is still growing in the shell. It makes sense that Von Richter's largest creatures are oceanic. There's this creature, and that giant mollusk that Julian told me about. No-" he paused, "There's the Eye." 

Mel shook his head "**Actually, the eye started out smaller than a soccer ball. I heard that Von Richter went into a panic when it started growing larger than he intended from mental energy."**

Dr. Zack's eyes followed the path of the large pipe, "Makes sense. Put in several levels of tanks, with pipes feeding the contents to the bottommost one, which probably contains a submersible, high pressure, high capacity pump. That arrangement makes the most of gravity to help feed the pumps. The pipes coming out of the main one at all the different levels forms a sort of distribution network." He motioned above him, "The control room may be the one above this one." 

They ran up the steps. Dr. Zack covered his ears as Mel kicked and pounded at the welds, but to no avail, **"No good!"** Mel said, shaking and wiping sweat from his forehead, **"Must have been a more careful techno who welded this one!"**

They thought for a few minutes, **"Looks to me we'll have to use your talent to get in, Doctor!"** Mel sighed. 

"No, wait a minute." Dr. Zack pulled his gloves out of his overalls, put them on, then pulled the ski mask over his head. He put his hands flat against the wall on top of the weld, "Wave suit on. gloves 100%" The gloves turned from white, to grey, to black. 

After a few seconds, he said, "Gloves off." They turned back to white almost immediately, "Try it now." he said, removing his hands, "Kick where I had my hands." 

Mel looked doubtful, but stepped back, ran at the door, leaped, and kicked at the spot. A loud CRACK and flying bits of metal announced the appearance of a wide crack in the weld, **"What the-"** Mel blinked. 

Dr. Zack repeated the process, "I'm using my wave suit to absorb the molecular motion, or heat, from the iron, reducing the temperature and making it more brittle. I've got to be careful, for I can easily freeze my hands if I do it for too long." 

After about 10 minutes, a network of cracks had formed, and the wall was dented enough to look inside. Mel put his eye up to the larger crack, **"You're right! I see the lights of a control panel inside!"**

It took another 20 minutes, but soon they had chipped and cracked enough of the weld of the sealed access manway for Mel to shove the slab open enough for them to get into the control room. Dr. Zack went to the control panel while Mel looked for the light switch. 

A single 40 watt bulb lit up the room, "We've got lights now." Mel said, joining Dr. Zack at the control panel. 

"Let's not touch anything at first," Dr. Zack said, "We may set it off accidentally. What we want to do is either deactivate it or turn it back out to sea." 

They both examined the labels on the gauges, indicators, and lights. There was a monitor embedded in the panel. **"Well, there's little danger of activating anything, since I don't see any buttons or switches, just that dial."** Mel observed, **"Apparently, this was just a monitoring panel. Do you?"**

"I don't either." Dr. Zack said, disappointed. He turned to Mel, "Any ideas you can get from-hey!" 

**"What?"** Mel turned to follow Dr. Zack's gaze. 

But Dr. Zack was already digging through the trashcan that was sitting next to the control panel, "Just what I thought! Blueprints for this structure. This was the construction headquarters, and they used the panel to confirm correct construction! They probably kept the place neat to avoid accidents, but forgot to empty the trash before sealing everything up! What luck!" He glanced through the blueprints, then glanced at the dial, "Turn that dial to 1." 

Mel did so, and the monitor came alive. However, the view was that of a camera lens covered with yellow glue. 

"Turn it to 3 now." 

Mel did so, and the view turned to the glowing red ball suspended in jelly, **"What is this thing?"** he asked. 

"Monitoring cameras. Von Richter probably used them to monitor construction, and the growth process. Camera 1 seems to be placed in an area that eventually got overgrown by the creature. Hmm." he continued looking through the blueprints, "Okay, turn it to, uhh, number 8". 

The view that appeared was of a large cavern that curved away in the distance. Gossamer threads seemed to fill the space, "Look!" Mel pointed on the monitor to a pipe that stuck out of the wall, and which ended in a nozzle. After a few seconds, a small puff of green gas came out of the nozzle and dispersed quickly. 

"Okay, that helps make this note on this blueprint make sense." Dr. Zack said, "Apparently, the pipes are used to spray sustenance into the open volume, where it disperses. Those threads are really nerves, and they absorb the sustenance and carry it to the rest of the creature." 

Mel frowned, **"Umm, wouldn't the sustenance concentration be too low if it's in a gaseous form?"**

"Wait a minute. That dial over there. No, the second one from the top with the letters 'CONCx0.001' on the label above it. That seems to lead to a sensor that's in the airspace. That must measure the sustenance concentration in the airspace." 

**"It's reading 0.1 right now."** Mel read, **"So if you multipy by 0.001 percent, it must be 0.0001 percent now. It should go boom now."**

"Hmm. Obviously, the electrical activity of the nerves is keeping the sustenance excitated, although I don't know how much of a voltage potential is required to do that with that low of a concentration." Dr. Zack thought for a moment, "At 0.0001 percent concentration, the volume of the airspace is so large, I would imagine that the sustenance in it would set off a respectable explosion, even if that red ball in the center isn't a bomb." 

Mel switched the monitor back to view 3 and looked at the glowering sphere, **"You know, even if it was chock full of TNT, that sphere couldn't possibly do much damage, since it's embedded in jelly. Being close to the center of this creature, one would think that most of the blast would be directed upwards and downwards, not outwards. And even then, the huge mass of the tube holding the airspace, and the airspace itself, would buffer any explosion that would be directed outwards."** Mel scratched his head, **"It would seem to me that Von Richter badly designed this creature if he wanted it to destroy an entire city. Maybe it won't do much damage."**

"Hmm." Dr. Zack shook his head, "I sorta doubt that." he said. 

**"Doctor, he's good at biology, not weapons."** Mel pointed out. 

"You have a point," Dr. Zack conceded. He picked up the blueprints and looked at them. He glanced at the blueprint for the bottom-most level and noted the specifications for the pumps in that room, "Yes, they're high capacity, high volume, variable speed pumps down there." He muttered, "They could have emptied this entire structure in less than five minutes. A smaller pump could have been used to keep this thing alive." 

**"He's not a civil engineer either."** Mel added, **"I say this thing is going to be a dud, so let's use your talent to get out of here and put some distance between us and it."**

Suddenly, Dr. Zack paled, "Wait a minute. The force of that explosion IS going to go upwards and downwards. Isn't the brain below the sphere?" 

**"Yes."**

"So the brain will be destroyed! That would kill the electrical activity and set the sustenance off!" 

"Yo**u're right! So how big of a boom would THAT make?"** Mel asked, "**How powerful IS sustenance?"**

"Gram for gram, its 80 times more powerful than TNT. It's about twice as dense as water, so-" he pulled out his Palm, "That's about 160 grams of TNT equivalent per CC of sustenance. A thousand CCs makes a liter. A thousand grams makes a kilo, and there's 2.2 pounds per kilo, so-" he punched at the Palm, "That makes about 352 pounds of TNT per liter." 

**"Well, the concentration in the air out there is so low, there can't be more than two or three thousand liters out there, don't you think? That's over a million pounds of TNT!"** Mel looked worried, "**That would take out several city blocks for sure!"**

"Uh oh." 

**"What?"**

"We forgot about the sustenance downstairs! There's still a meter and a half of it! That high speed pump can empty that room out and put it into the airspace in less than a minute! This room is about 10 by 10 meters, right?" 

**"Right. So how much TNT is that like?"**

Dr. Zack punched at the Palm, looked at the number, scowled, and muttered, "That can't be right. I must have made a mistake. I'll try again." 

Mel shifted nervously as Dr. Zack took several minutes calculating and recalculating the number. He finally sighed, "About 26 kits. THAT is BAD news!." 

**"Kits?"**

"Sorry. During my stint at the Energy Research Lab, I talked a lot with some Nuclear Physicists who had worked on nuclear weapons projects. They used a code lingo of Kits and Mets. A Kit is a kiloton of TNT, and a Met is a Megaton of TNT. 26 kits means 26 kilotons of TNT." 

**"Is that a lot?"**

"The first Atomic bomb was about 21 kilotons. It incinerated 10 square kilometers of Hiroshima and killed over 100,000 people," Dr. Zack sighed, "When Von Richter said it would destroy Meridiana, he wasn't that far off!" 

**"Well, I guess he DOES know something about explosives!"** Mel said, chagrined, **"So what do we do?"**

"Stop it somehow! When did they say they thought it would hit land?" 

**"Umm. about 11:15, I thought."**

Dr. Zack glanced at his watch, "It's about 11:10 now. We don't have much time!" He bit his lip, and glanced at the panel, "Hey! Didn't a light change on the panel?" 

Mel glanced at it, **"I can't tell."**

"Run downstairs and check to see if the pump has started!" 

**"Okay!" ** Mel ran out of the room, jumped down the stairs, ran to the pipe, and put his ear up to it, _"I don't think so! Must be something else!"_ he thought, hearing nothing. He turned and ran back upstairs. 

However, the moment he got near the opening they had made, he felt cold air and a strong horizontal pull that jerked him off his feet. Suddenly, he felt himself falling, the glowing red sphere of the Isle of Doom off to one side. 

He hit the jelly-like dome and bounced about 10 meters into the air. The lights of Meridiana circled around him as he spun around helplessly. When he hit again, he didn't bounce as high, but began to roll down the slope. When he got to the flat part of the Isle of Doom, he was rolling too fast to stop, so kept on rolling until he rolled off the edge. He barely got out a yelled, **"DR ZACK!!!!"** before he hit open water between the huge tentacles of the Isle feet first. He shot through the shallow water and stopped when he hit bottom, embedding his legs up to his knees. 

He tried to pull them out of the muck, but years of dumping bilge water and motor oil had turned the bottom into the consistency of tar. 

_"I'll have to think of something else!"_   
-----------------------------   
"Hey Captain!" A coast guard sailor on the tug tracking the Isle of Doom yelled, "Did you hear somebody yell for Dr. Zacharias?" 

"Yes!" the captain nodded, "It may be that penetration team the mayor's office briefed us about! I'm going in close for a pick up!" 

"Be careful!" 

"I know! That fishing trawler crew reported on how unpredictable that thing is!" 

"This is crazy!" The sailor manning the lights muttered to his companion as he swept the searchlight over the waters, "We're getting closer to that thing?" 

"Not half as crazy as those idiots standing on the pier just watching it!" 

"We're getting awfully close to-" 

"WATCH OUT!" 

The giant wave swept over them.   
---------------------------   
"Sorry Mel." Dr. Zack apologized to the airspace that the Fixed Idea used to occupy as he collapsed the hole he had created, "But Cybersix will strangle me if I let you get killed!" 

He ran downstairs and lay down on his stomach on the ground facing the wall. 

This was going to be a day of firsts. He had never tried jumping through a hole before, nor had twisted the orientation of the other end of the hole that pulled Mel through it. THAT effect had interesting implications that had to be checked against the General Theory of Relativity, but that would have to wait for another day, after he got over his headache and survived this little adventure. 

NOW he was going to try to form a hole on the other side of a wall, blind, and put the other end about 200 kilometers straight up. 

He stared, concentrating. 

He was rewarded by the sound of a roar on the other end of the wall, _"Gotta keep it open until I'm sure all the sustenance on the other side is vaccumed out into space:"_ he thought. 

Suddenly, the floor jerked wildly, breaking his concentration and dissolving the hole,_"Oh no! It must have gotten to land!"_

He considered his options. He would have to open the hole again to drain the sustenance completely, and hopefully to suck the fluid already in the pipes out too. He could probably do that a fourth time. However, he very much doubted he could do it a fifth time, much less doing it accurately enough to get out safely.   
------------------------   
"Lucas. I came here to thank you." 

"For what?" 

"For everything." 

Lucas' large fingers touching and gently lifting her chin made her heart beat wildly. When he came close, she pulled away slightly, "But-I'm not human, Lucas!" 

"Shhhhh!" 

She had never been kissed. Lucas was the first one, and the love and affirmation that flowed from him to her made her almost dizzy. The temptation crossed her mind to abandon the city to the monster out in the harbor, to take Lucas and Data 7, and to flee with them, so that there could be more moments like this eternal one.... 

_"Oh, that would be so wonderful..."_ she thought, giddy with happiness for the second time in her life. 

The tears that welled up and ran down her cheek forced her decision. 

She tore herself away from Lucas and fled out the window, knowing that lingering to savor just a few seconds more would overrule her better judgment. 

_"Goodbye Lucas."_   
------------------------   
Dr. Zacharias slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and leaned back against the now sloping steel wall, nursing a tremendous headache. 

He had been able to open another hole, and kept it open until the vaccuum inside the tanks had sucked the sustenance and air out of it, making the outside air pressure shove the walls inward. He hoped he had gotten rid of enough sustenance. However, he was quite sure he wouldn't be able to open another hole to excape. He'd have to figure out another way to survive. 

But first, he'd have to let this raging headache subside a little, _"I'll just rest for a few minutes."_ he thought.   
-------------------------   
The sudden jerk that announced a change in direction awoke him, _"I wonder what caused that?"_ Dr. Zack thought. The short nap had helped the headache subside enough for him to think up a plan. He slowly made his way back to the top level to retrieve the air tank he had left there. Before he wrestled it on, he pulled off his overalls and the outer wavesuit top, removing the photo and putting it under the inner wavesuit top. He then turned the air on, put on the tank with some difficulty, then managed to stretch the wavesuit top over it as he put it back down. He jerked and pulled at the pants and top so that there was as perfect a seal between them as he could manage. Things were complicated when the floor shifted at an angle, as if it was climbing a mountain, _"Must have plowed through the city and it's climbing the mountain on the other side to get altitude. That would simulate an air blast. The mountain would redirect the force so that everything would be blown out to sea."_ He then slowly made his way back downstairs to the control room, trying to keep his balance. 

Half way there, he heard the loud whine of machinery starting up. He smiled a few moments later at the loud explosion, accompanied by the sound of large metal pieces flying about inside the metal room, _"I must have done a good enough job if the pumps cavitated and blew up. Any sustenance left in the pipes won't be dispersed and contribute to any explosion."_

"Ninety Seconds" a voice sounded out of a speaker as he entered the control room. He switched the monitor to camera three and pulled his gloves on while looking at it, _"It must be close to exploding, since its blinking. Nice of Von Richter to let me know when its going to blow up."_ He glanced at the sustenance air concentration dial, and noted that it was almost zero, _"Good! All this extra moving about must have burned up most of the remaining sustenance in the air chamber! There's certain to be some left, maybe 150 tons worth. I MIGHT be able to ride that out."_

He pulled the photo out and looked at it. It was of him and a very petite woman with long brown hair, taken at an ERL Invitational Colloquium. He was smiling a little, but her grin and her arm around his back indicated that she was enjoying the photo opportunity much more than he was. Her onyx black eyes sparkled with amusement at his discomfort. _"Hmm. It was the eyes too, on top of how small-boned she is, that made her remind me of you, Lauren." _he thought with sad, regretful amusement,_ "I guess I hardly ever look at this photo any more to have figured that out earlier. Another example of old Tony missing out on the more important cues of his so-called life."_

The rumbling of the Isle of Doom came to a stop, diverting him from the blue thoughts that old men think when they think about missing an opportunity of a lifetime. He noted that the sustenance air concentration dial read a hair above zero, _"Out of gas, buddy. Hopefully, you never got to where Von Richter wanted you to be."_

He quickly put the photo away, put the regulator into his mouth, then pulled the outer ski mask over his face. The inner one went over the opening, protecting his eyes. He'd have to cover his eyes with his hands as well. 

There was a chance for survival, but it was rather slim: The slightest gap in wavesuit coverage would allow hot gasses to enter and incinerate him. ------------------------   
Von Richter screamed as his creations surrounded him. Hands, claws, and tentacles reached out to take hold of his arms and legs...   
------------------------   
"Wave suit on."   
------------------------   
_"NOOO!"_ Cybersix thought when she threw the exit door open to see the Isle of Doom to her right, and the forest, where it should have been, to her left, _"Von Richter didn't do it!"_

She turned and leaped blindly, only to encounter Data 7 in midair as he tried to leap too, entangling them both in her cape. _"Oh how embar-"_   
-----------------------   
"100 percent."   
-----------------------   
The flashing red core of the Isle of Doom flared white and exploded...   



	17. Aftermath

This chapter starts just before the close of Episode 13, and proceeds into my version of Season two.   
----------------------   
Lucas toyed with the pair of glasses in his large hands, neither hearing the drone of the television behind him nor the muted, worried words of his fellow diners discussing the day's events. In his mind's eye, he saw Adrian sitting across from him, smiling his enigmatic smile and fading away, like Alice's Cheshire Cat. _"Damn! She sure pulled the wool over MY eyes! I sometimes wondered what the guy was thinking, given the way he smiled the way he did, and now I know!"_

The memories came flooding back, both good and bad. The literary wisecracks. The hesitation at going with him to the movies. The hurt feelings and angry protests when accused of seeing Cybersix behind his back. The fear and reluctance at going to the hospital and seeing a doctor. 

It was strange and difficult, but now he tried to merge those memories with those he treasured of Cybersix, from the first time he was struck by those large, onyx black eyes when she had turned, caught sight of him, and had exclaimed, "YOU!", to "Please belive me! And Adrian!" to her hesitant, " But I'm not human Lucas!" 

It all made sense now. 

Thinking about the Lori fiasco forced him to a decision. Rising, he slipped the glasses into his shirt pocket, paid for the barely touched drink, and left. 

He headed for the school, making his way through the crowds of displaced people standing in the streets. Classes had been let out early, and it was very unlikely that classes would be held tomorrow: The principal had told everyone to lock down their desks and cabinets and prepare their rooms for emergency occupancy. 

While on his way, he passed by a storefront with a television set tuned to the local news. He stopped to listen, along with the others in the crowd. "-unable to reach the site of the explosion due to sniper fire coming from the hillsides along the coast road that passes by the old observatory. Although our reporter informed the police of this, the resources of the police force are stretched so thin maintaining order that they couldn't spare any officers to investigate. The mystery of what happened on the San Carlos Peninsula must remain that until morning. For those who have been displaced, the following shelters are being opened now-" 

As Lucas suspected, Meridiana High School was on the list of shelters. When he got there, the school was already teeming with aimless, bewildered people. Surprisingly, the Civil Defense authority was better prepared than everyone had suspected, given the large number of trucks with pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, and food. There was, however, quite a bit of confusion as glitches in the emergency plans were discovered and worked around by the aid workers. Lucas showed his school ID, got into the building, and headed for Tilman's office. Tilman was there, displaying a surprising level of competence and authority as he dispositioned his employees, "Ah, Amato! What can you do?" he asked him. 

"I'm worried about Cy-Seidelman! I need his address to check on him." 

"Could you check on Tournas, Partillo, and Zacharias as well?" 

"Frances said she was leaving town, and you know how she is! We'll be lucky to see her before next Monday. I think I saw Andre helping to unload a truck, but I'll make sure." 

"And if you find Dr. Zacharias," the Civil Defense worker coordinating with Tilman glanced up at Lucas, "Make sure he calls the mayor!"   
-----------------   
"AHHH!!!! HELP! HELP A POOR CHILD! HELP MEEE!" 

The branches of the huge tree that had fallen on Jose's getaway jeep moved and shifted, "HEEELLLLPPPP!" Jose's voice went up an octave in shrillness. 

"Duh!" 

The main trunk lifted off the back of the jeep, moved, and fell to the ground. Jose glanced up at the face of a very puzzled and surprised looking Fixed Idea, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE, YOU IDIOT! GET THE CAR OUT!" 

"Broken." The Fixed idea pointed at the flattened tires. 

"Argh!! BEND DOWN!" 

The Fixed Idea bent down obediently. Jose hopped up onto the back of the Idea's neck, "Ohhh! You're soaking WET!" Jose clouted the head in front of him, "Get moving! Back to the Mansion!" 

"What about me?" Sylvester asked. 

"Follow me!" 

"And what about-" Sylvester pointed to the flaming promentory. 

"Never mind him! I'M THE MASTER NOW!" 

"Uhh, YES SIR!" 

"I had it all planned out, just in case the opportunity presented itself!" 

"Hey!" Sylvester pointed at the muddy pant legs of the Fixed Idea "Where were YOU?" 

"Uhh, big boom knock me into water. Got stuck in mud." the Fixed Idea replied, tearing his eyes from the burning heights. 

No one noticed the look on his face as he started leaping toward town. After all, they thought, he was just your average, no-account Fixed Idea.   
---------------   
It would prove difficult for Lucas to get to Dr. Zacharias' house: The trail of destruction left by that huge creature had nearly gotten to the city's central park, so the entire area had been cordioned off and placed under martial law. Lucas decided to see Adrian's apartment first. He'd never been there before, Adrian having come up with one excuse after another for him not to visit. Well, if Lori could find it, he could too. 

He knew that Adrian lived in a top-floor apartment, for he, no Cybersix, he corrected himself, spoke about the view from it. So when he rounded the corner and saw the light coming through the uppermost window, he just KNEW that she had to be there! Heart thumping, he ran quickly to the door, bounded up the stairs, and rushed to the only apartment door on the top floor. He heedlessly grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open without knocking. 

"OH!" 

"LORI!" Lucas exclaimed between pants, seeing the redhead jerk her head up from looking over the crowded table, "What are you doing here?" 

She grinned, eyes narrowing, "And what are YOU doing here?" 

"Is-" he hesitated. 

"Is SHE here?" Lori shook her head, "No. I came here looking for her too." 

They both regarded each other for a long moment. Then Lucas sighed, "She really had me fooled!" he admitted. 

"Hah! I can't believe that *I* fell for a girl in drag!" she complained. 

"And thanks to you, *I* accused her of having an affair with herself!" 

"You didn't!" 

They glared at each other for a few seconds before Lucas started to chuckle. Despite herself, Lori began giggling too. Thus, it was a few minutes before both were recovered enough to speak again, "Do you think-" she started hopefully. 

Lucas sighed, "She was there. She-saw me this afternoon. Said she was going to try to stop it. Sort of. I have no idea how you can stop something that big. I dunno. I hope she got away. I hope." 

Lori looked around, "She's not here, that's for sure." she patted at her hair nervously, "I-just dropped by to see if-I think I'll go check up on my friends. Just to make sure they're okay. Jitter's apartment was south of the park. Hope it wasn't- Bye!" she finished in a rush, turning to leave the room. 

"Lori?" 

"What?" she stopped. 

He pulled the glasses from his shirt pocket, "Want these?" 

"Uhhh, no thanks." 

"She gave them to you." 

Lori read the tone of his voice, "I think she'd be happier knowing you had them." she said, heading for the door. 

"Bye." Lucas said with a hollow voice as the door closed behind him,.leaving him alone with his thoughts. 

_"Now what the HECK do I expect to find here?"_ he wondered. _"After all, it's not exactly a guy's apartment. Well, it sorta looks like one, but-" _He'd broken into friends' apartments and rooms at college before, mostly to leave behind a variety of pranks, traps, gags, and practical jokes. The occasional thought of doing the same thing to Adrian had crossed his mind, but he was glad he had never followed through. Knowing what he knew now, this felt like breaking into a woman's chambers and violating her privacy by clumsily pawing through her personal effects. 

But deep inside, he knew that his real motive for staying was purer than that. He used to laugh at the silliness of people who left the rooms and houses of dead people, famous or otherwise, EXACTLY the way it was on the day they passed away. But now, having suffered his own loss, he understood. This was where they slept, ate, thought, read, dreamed... 

And lived. He wondered if the feeling he felt now was what people called the sense of the sacred. 

He slowly began to walk through the room. He opened one cabinet and smiled, despite the stab in his heart, at seeing the large collection of bandages, rolls of tape, and other medical supplies neatly stacked on the shelves: _"I too was mortal and suffered hurt and pain. I had wounds to tend and aches to endure."_

He shook his head at the thought that intruded into his mind, speaking at once in her and Adrian's voice. He opened the cabinet next to it, and saw some men's shirts and pants on hangers. A flash of color caught his eye, and he slid the clothes on the bar and wondered at the red, strapless dress that hung there, with a pearl necklace and earrings attached to the hanger: _"I had hopes to be other than Adrian."_

_"Did you succeed, Cybersix? Did you ever feel free enough to wear this dress?"_

The voice did not answer. The flash of jealousy that went through his head at the thought of another man seeing her in this dress was replaced by shame. For her sake, he hoped she HAD put it on and HAD felt some small bit of joy, no matter who else had shared that magical moment with her. If anyone in the world deserved it, she surely did. 

He wandered over to the bed, still unmade: _"I grew weary too, and had to sleep to regain my strength. I also slept late and didn't have the time to make my bed in the morning either!"_

He felt irritated at the lump growing in his throat. 

He glanced up at the shelf of books over the bed, reading the titles of literary greats, Shakespeare being the most common entry: _"I found enjoyment, solace, beauty, and wisdom in the words of the best writers of the human race."_

As he turned from the shelf, his eyes flicked through the bathroom door and stopped, something catching his eye. He walked into the bathroom and went to the small, short bench beside the bathtub that seemed to serve as a table for the large collection of bottles on it. Picking one up, he noted, with some surprise, that it was a rather expensive brand of bath oil. At least, that's what his fellow teachers had told him when he broached the subject of a gift for a former girlfriend. 

He blinked. His last "date" had been with Elaine, but what other women had he been more than casual with since those onyx black eyes had riveted him speechless on that bridge? 

A quick inventory of the benchtop revealed equally expensive varieties of bath oils and shampoos. He took one that was nearly empty, indicating that it was her favorite, and twisted the cap off. A scent reminding him of roses in the springtime came to mind: _"I had my own innocent pleasures that I indulged in from time to time."_

Absentmindedly, while trying to dig up from his brain the memory of his last date before that fateful meeting on the bridge, he walked out the bathroom, stopped at the bureau that stood by the doorway, and opened the top drawer. The sight of lacy black bras and panties, mixed in with male underwear, snapped him back to the present, and he slammed the drawer shut. Face red, he glanced behind him, imagining a feminine chuckle, folloowed by a sad sounding sigh, and: _"I could dream, couldn't I?"_

_"Some of those are-uh-rather small."_ he thought, rejecting using the word "very", even though it was much closer to the truth. 

Could an imaginary voice blush? Being imaginary, it probably could. And Lucas felt sure that it was doing so at that very moment, "I, uh, suppose panty lines would be undiginifed." he said aloud. He wasn't exactly sure why he said it, although he felt he HAD to say it. Did an imaginary voice need to be relieved from embarassment? 

He walked over to the table in the center of the room and surveyed the remains of the hasty, half eaten breakfast. His eye wandered to the pile of books off to the side. An open notebook with writing in it made him move around the table to read it better. 

It was a poem, written in what he used to think was Adrian's handwriting, with numerous corrections and a couple of notes, "Poetry?" he wondered aloud, momentarily stunned at the depths and complexity of the woman he realized that he had not truly known. He looked at the books surrounding the notepad, and saw a book of poems kept open by a heavy piece of metal. It was open to a page on which was a poem that seemed similar in form and layout to what was written in the notebook. He couldn't tell if it was the exact same piece because it was in a foreign language he didn't recognize. Then he noticed another book that looked like a dictionary positioned above the notebook, _"Portugese? She's translating a poem from Portugese? But-"_ His attention returned to the book of poems, and he noted that the poet was Pessoa, _"Woah! I've heard of him! She was translating Pessoa?"_ He turned his attention back to the notebook and noticed a folded paper tucked in the back pages. He pulled it out, opened it, and saw from the letterhead that it was from the largest and most prestigious educational publishing house in South America, based in Lima, Peru. The letter had been written six months ago. Dear Mr. Seidelman: 

Thank you for your interest in having us publish your translations of Pessoa's works. Yes, we do have an agreement with the publishers of his works in Portugal, and have been looking for a suitable translator. Our reviewer, a language professor at the University of Lima, was very impressed with the high quality and fidelity of the sample translations that you sent with your letter. I and our inhouse reviewers also agree with his assessment. 

Unfortunately, our policies forbid us from awarding an advance for this type of project, and I have been unable to get a waiver for your case. Please understand that this is simply a matter beyond my control, and I urge you not to be discouraged by this setback. 

I also regret the rather long delay in responding to your letter, but the reviews were so positive that I took the liberty of sending your samples to the original publisher for their evaluation and pre-approval, as required by the terms of our agreement with them, and waited for their response. As I expected, they were very impressed, as was the Pessoa Estate trustees. All parties have given their pre-approval, subject to review of the final manuscript. I hope this news will compensate for my inability to obtain an advance, and will encourage you to continue your efforts. Unfortunately, that approval does not extend to magazine publication, which would create copyright problems that would delay, if not prevent, book publication of the final work. 

When communicating with me, be sure to include your file number of AS00137. In the meantime, although it is somewhat unprecedented for a first time author or translator, I am pursuing a request that you be awarded a Premium Translator bonus for your first work if the quality of the final product is consistent with what you sent me. 

I am looking forward to the pleasure of working with you in bringing what I hope will be the first of a series of authoritative translations of Pessoa's poetic works. 

Sincerely Yours, 

Frances Tarillas   
Chief Editor, Translations   
_"I too wanted to share my joy of poetry and literature with others. I too wanted to leave something lasting after I was gone."_

Lucas carefully folded the letter and put it back into the notebook. His eye glanced back to the book she was translating. 

He sat down heavily in the chair, put his head into his hands, and tried to stiffle the twisting pain of loss that surged through him, forcing tears to his eyes and making his shoulders heave. 

Cybersix had been three pages shy of completing the translation. 

_"Yes. I too pondered the futility and pointlessness of meeting an end like this. More so than most."_

He didn't know how long he sat at that table weeping for the unfinished life that was mirrored in the unfinished book. When he finally got up, he realized with dismay that his tears had fallen on the notebook, making the ink bleed a little. He felt bad, guiltily wondering if, in some way, he marred her life as he had just ruined her carefully written work. 

Sighing, he walked around the table, ready to leave the room as it was, when his eyes fell on a book lying next to the plate. It had an envelope stuck in it a quarter of the way through, and it looked like she had been in the habit of reading it while eating. Curious, he moved around the table to read the title. It was "Human Determinism in a Quantum World". 

_"What a strange book for her to read!"_ he thought. _"Must be a library book. Better return it before she gets into trouble."_ He remembered the look on Adrian's face whenever he entered a library or bookstore. It would be out of character for someone who loved books that much to be tardy in returning one. He picked it up, pulled the envelope out, and noticed it was from the publishing house that had responded to Cybersix's letter. He put the envelope on the table and opened the book to the first few pages to look for the library's return address. 

Instead, he found a pre-prrinted sticker that read: From the Library of Dr. Anthony Zacharias. 

The door slammed hard behind him, and his footsteps thundered as he pounded down the stairs, the book under his arm and a wild look in his eyes.   
-----------   
"-but she has courage, and I admire that." the voice of Von Richter came out of the tape recorder. Jose shut the recorder off and grinned. 

"Pretty good if you ask me!" he exulted, "Pretty good!" 

He turned the tape recorder back on. 

"Attention! In my absence, I am leaving Jose in full charge. Anyone disobeying him will have to answer to me upon my return!" There was a long pause, and then "And I like kitties, puppies, and never go to bed without my teddy bear!" 

Jose laughed convulsively. 

He did not notice that the Fixed Idea he had ridden back to the mansion had been standing just outside the doorway, hearing everything. It turned and walked away, a frown on its face.   
------------   
"KEEP LOOKING!" Krumens yelled to the crew of technos scouring as close as they dared to the flames of the observatory and the surrounding trees. 

"Sir, nothing could have escaped that!" A techno protested; waving at the fire whose heat was purifying the site. 

Krumens glared at the techno, pulled out his sidearm and pointed it at the techno's forehead, "You have a chance of redeeming yourself by finding SOMETHING of the master, dead or alive! Do you hear me?" 

"YES SIR!" the techno paled, turned, and ran to an unexplored section of the forest. 

Krumens regretted not having insisted on accompanying Dr. Von Richter to the castle or to the observatory. He had come as quickly as he could when he heard the last frantic radio transmission the Doctor had made to Paris that included the accusation that Jose had betrayed him. It was on tape, so he did have something to use against the clone. Unfortunately, if he didn't find his beloved Doctor, Jose would be all that was left that he could work with. 

Yes. Very unfortunate indeed. 

"SIR!" A different techno ran up, waving something, "Look at this!" 

Krumens looked at the object, then snarled, "That's not his boot, you idiot!" 

"I know sir!" the techno replied, circling his thumb and forefinger easily around where the wearer's ankle would go, "It's pointed too.." 

"It's a woman's boot! The renegade cyber's!" Krumens exclaimed, "Did you find anything else nearby?" 

"No sir. Do you think-" 

"I have heard of explosions literally blowing men out of their boots. None ever lived to report it personally, as far as I know." Krumens re-examined the boot and noted the horribly melted heel and sole with satisfaction, "At least your Master accomplished one of his main purposes for this trip. Keep looking! He may have survived!" 

The techno nodded, trying to hide his doubts as he turned to leave as Krumens tossed the remains of Cybersix's boot aside and pulled a radio off his belt, "How does the perimeter look?" 

"Secure! After we chased off that news van, no one else has come from the city yet!" came the static-filled reply. 

"Let me know the moment anyone else comes!" 

"Yes sir!" 

Krumens paced, kicking stones and trying to resist the urge to pray or shout at the creations scurrying around him, obviously doing their best to find something of Von Richter. 

Suddenly, there was a shout. Krumens broke into a run in the general direction from which it came. 

He came upon a group of technos struggling with a stinking pile of unrecognizable flesh. The smell was mingled with that of sustenance, "Don't bother with it!" he shouted angrily, "I want the doctor!" 

"Sir, there are multiple bodies here!" a techno protested. 

"SO!?" 

"Why would they be together in the first place? And why weren't the bodies flung apart by the explosion?" 

The implications sank into Krumens' brain, and he cursed his anxiety for blinding him. He grabbed a whistle and blew it shrilly. Various creatures sprinted toward the sound, "Get these bodies apart! Hurry!" 

There was a lot of tugging, pulling, and cursing as the charred bodies were peeled away from the pile. 

"HERE HE IS!" 

Krumens leaped on the pile and fell on his knees at Von Richter's side. The doctor was horribly burned with sustenance, and one of his eyes was missing. His limbs were certainly dislocated and perhaps broken, but thankfully not torn off completely. Apparently, the heat of the explosion had fused the group of monsters together, simultaneously encasing and protecting the one they were intending to destroy. Krumens put his fingers on the doctor's neck, feeling for a pulse. 

"HE'S ALIVE! GET ME MY BAG! GET A STRETCHER! START CUTTING THESE FAILURES AWAY FROM HIM!" Krumens shouted. There was an explosion of bodies as the technos raced to reply, some banging into each other or into a tree in their excitement. 

_"There's hope! There's hope! There's hope!"_ Krumens thought excitedly as he tried to peel off the fingers of a green creature from Von Richter's upper arm, not feeling the burns from the sustenance tainted blood that covered it. _"We weren't prepared for this, so we'll have to start growing a new body for him immediately. Cloning procedure 3 should work the best, but it'll be at least five months before the body will be ready for the transfer."_

When his medical bag arrived, Krumens prepared and injected a tranquilizer, "He'll have to be sedated until the body is ready." he muttered half to himself, half to the others, "Okay! Is he free yet?" he said, preparing an injection of antibiotics, "Somebody get some plasma!" 

Soon, Krumens was accompanying the band of Technos carrying Von Richter in a stretcher toward a waiting helicopter, "We have the doctor!" he yelled into his radio, "Fall back, get into the other choppers, and go secure the castle! I'll be taking your Master to the Amazon lab! Not a word to Jose or any of the European bases! That's an order!" 

"Sir?" a techno that was tagging along asked anxiously, "Why are you leaving out Jose? Isn't he the master's own son?" 

"Fool! He betrayed his father! With your master in this state, he is sure to try again! CAREFUL! Don't jostle him you idiots!" 

"And the European bases?" 

Krumens' head snapped around and he glared at the hapless techno. He then pulled out his gun and shot the techno through the throat. "You ask too many questions!" he told the writhing techno as he climbed into the chopper, moments before the body went still and vaporized. 

The other technos suddenly started taking extra care in lifting the stretcher into the chopper and securing it. They then took their positions, shifting nervously. Krumens sat down next to the pilot, "Let's get out of here!" he ordered. 

A techno looked down at his mutilated, but alive, master. He noticed a bit of metal chain, like a broken necklace, coming out from between his clutching fingers. Curious, he leaned over, reverently pried his master's fingers apart, and pulled out what looked like a round, disc-like metallic locket. Holding it up to the small light next to him, he noticed that the outward surfaces of the bluish green metal formed a closed iris, duplicated on both sides of the locket. Wondering what was inside, the techno looked for a catch or something that would open the locket, but all he could find was a small knob at the top. He tried turning the knob with no results. Pushing it in didn't work. 

When he pulled it, it came out two millimeters and the locket began to gently vibrate between his fingers. The metal iris slowly opened, only to reveal another metallic iris underneath. When the first one finished opening, the second one began to open, only to reveal a third iris, _"Whatever this is, it must be very precious to the Master to have this much protection while allowing him to look at it whenever he wished,"_ the techno thought as he watched the fourth iris open, excited to finally be seeing clear glass. 

He held it up to the light, only to see several long strands of red hair coiled up inside. 

_"Strange, but the ways of the master are not mine to question. I must make sure this is safe until I can return it to him."_ the techno thought, pushing the knob in and watching the four irises close successively over the encased hairs, not remotely close to comprehending the value to his master of what he was slipping into his pocket. 

Krumens stared into the night, _"Yes, Jose will pose a problem." he mused, "He is not only a danger, but being his father's clone gives him protection and authority that even I am hesitant to challenge. It would be in Von Richter's best interests, and mine as well, to let another provide the solution and take the responsibility."_   
--------------   
Red hairs (C) Genesis Seidelman   
European solution (C) Anay   



	18. Complications

"H-Hello Master Jose!" the techno quaked as Jose goose-stepped into the cavernous Castle Laboratory, eight Fixed Ideas behind him, "I-I wasn't expecting you!" 

"You weren't supposed to, you idiot! Did you receive the message from my Father?" 

"Y-Yes Master!" 

"The battle against Cybersix was a bit too much for him. He wishes to be left alone to recuperate, as well as celebrate!" Jose announced, "I am in charge now!" 

"B-But Master!" 

**"WHAT??!!"** Jose screamed. 

"Helicopters are being sent from Krumens to take charge of the castle! H-He said-" 

"WHAT!!???" Jose shouted, "I KNEW it! He's finally showing his traitorous face now! I never trusted him!" 

"Duhhh, what do we do?" one of the Fixed Ideas asked. 

"We shall rebroadcast the message from my Father to them. If they obey, then no problem! But if they don't--" he let the threat trail off into thin air, "Let's arrange a welcoming party! You!" he pointed at one, "Go to the armory and arm everyone!"   
--------------------------------   
Lucas evaded the road blocks by going through back alleys, and soon found himself on the sidewalk in front of the address he had copied out of the Faculty Resume book. He glanced at the address again, then at the street sign at the corner, then again at the number in brass letters set into the right hand brick gatepost. His mouth curled into a bitter smile as his eyes surveyed the two story townhouse, "Figures." he muttered, shoving the gate open and walking along the stone path to the door. He grabbed the knocker and started knocking at the door with it violently, _"Come on! Open it, you old-"_

He heard the lock turning, and the door opened, "Lucas!" Dr. Zacharias exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" 

Lucas pushed his way in, "Tilman was worried about you, so he sent me to check in on you." 

"What? Are there classes today?" 

"No, and not for the next several days! Not with 30 people bunking in your physics lab!" 

Dr. Zack groaned, "And I left the telescope out!" 

Lucas looked at him, frowning, "The mayor wants you to call him." 

"Hmm. I suppose he would." 

"Why would he want you?" 

"I lead a research team onto the Isle of Doom, and I guess he wants a-" 

"Isle of Doom? So, how did it get that name?" Lucas asked suspiciously. 

Dr. Zack looked at him, puzzled by Lucas' hostile attitude, "I-ah-thought it was a rather appropriate name.." he stammered. 

"Could you also explain THIS?" he demanded, handing him the book he had taken from Cybersix's apartment. 

"Well, I ah, loaned it to Adrian. He was interested in the subject matter, and-" 

"Oh come ON, Doctor Zacharias! Adrian and I were pals and buddies! He NEVER mentioned any interest in Quantum Mechanics to me!" 

"Lucas, there was a lot more to Adrian than you know." 

"Hah! I THOUGHT I knew him, but since Lori gave me these-" here, Lucas pulled Adrian's glasses from his shirt pocket, "I realized how much of a fool I was!" 

"Where did you get-" Dr. Zack started, a bit startled at the sight of the glasses. 

"Like I said, From Lori. And she got them from Cybersix herself!" He chuckled maliciously at the look on Dr. Zack's face, "I went to Adrian's apartment and found your book there. Adrian never expressed an interest in Quantum Mechanics, but I have a fairly good idea why a genetic lab creation would wonder if she had free will! "Lucas paused, then asked, "So Doctor Zacharias, what did you and Cybersix do here in this fine mansion?" 

Dr. Zack frowned at Lucas, "Mr. Amato! What are you implying?" 

"Don't take me for a fool! You've got money, or you wouldn't be able to afford a place like this! I'm a biology teacher, remember? Do you know how much meat a panther eats in a week? There's no wild game here except for the wild dogs in the street! Her teacher's salary wouldn't be able to stretch far enough for both of them! She had to get extra cash from someplace to pay for Data 7's upkeep, and-" He shook his head, "Awww, why bother? Just answer me these two questions!" 

"What?" Dr. Zack asked coldly, glaring at Lucas and shaking slightly. 

"How much did you pay her, and was she any good?" 

"LUCAS! Don't be such an ASS!" 

Lucas whirled around and stared at Cybersix standing in the doorway to what looked like the sitting room. She had her leather suit on, but didn't have her hat, cape, or boots. She walked up to him, limping slightly, "What do you think Dr. Zack and I were doing?" sha asked him, voice low, glaring at him. 

"Well, what was it Lori said? Ah! With you having a thing for leather-" Lucas said sarcastically, using both hands to make a motion that was commonly used among Meridiana's prostitutes to signal their availability to prospective customers, "I would think something appropriately, ah, kinky coul-" 

Cybersix's hand swept up, halting inches from Lucas' left cheek, shaking. 

Then, slowly, it went to her mouth as she started to giggle, the fingers sliding up to cover her eyes as she struggled to control herself. She turned to Dr. Zack and put her hand on his shoulder, "He thinks we-" she started, only to lose it completely and burst out laughing. 

Dr. Zack gave a long, ludicrous snort through his nose, bent down, and began slapping his knee, "He ACTUALLY thinks we-" He said, his voice two octaves higher than normal, his hands duplicating the hand signal Lucas used. He then pointed at her, then at himself. They were silent for a split instance, looking at each other, considering the implications, and then burst out howling again. 

Lucas watched, a puzzled look on his face, as Cybersix and Dr. Zack leaned on each other like two drunks fit to pass out, put their arms around each others shoulders for support, and staggered into the sitting room and into the chairs there, howling with laughter with each uncertain step. He blinked, waited until the laughter subsided somewhat, then walked in and sat down opposite of the pair. The other two paused, looked at him, then at each other, and began to laugh again. 

There was a roar from somewhere downstairs, "I'll get him." Cybersix said, getting up and limping out. 

Lucas watched her walk out, then turned his attention back to Dr. Zack, "Tony, ahhh-" he started. 

Dr. Zack started chuckling again. 

"Nothing?" Lucas asked, hoping he sounded remorseful. 

"Nothing. *I* was the one feeding Data 7 all this time, by the way." 

"Oh," he glanced at the door through which Cybersix had left. 

"Turn left, go through the kitchen," Dr. Zack said, "Left again at the other end into the small corridor. Go down the stairs to the basement." 

Lucas got up and went to the door. 

"Oh Lucas?" 

He stopped, feeling bad, "What, Tony?" 

"PLEASE don't touch any of my stuff down there."   
------------------   
"NOOO!" Jose shouted at the chagrined Fixed Ideas, hopping up and down, tearing at his hair, "NOT THAT! IDIOTS! FOOLS!"   
------------------   
"NOOO!" Krumens yelled into the receiver of the radio-phone, face livid,"NOT THAT! IDIOTS! FOOLS!"   
------------------   
Lucas stopped at the bottom of the steps, looking around and taking in the disordered chaos of Dr. Zack's basement,   
_"Not touching anything seems to be the smart thing to do."_ he thought. He carefully weaved his way through the narrow trail between workbenches toward the two sheets suspended from the ceiling, beside which Cybersix was working. 

"-have to wait a little while longer." Cybersix was saying as he walked up behind her. 

Lucas blinked. Data 7 was in one sheet, suspended from the ceiling as if from a sling, paws dangling a couple of centimeters from the floor. He looked along the body, and noted that Data 7's tail was in a similar improvised sling. 

Data 7 gave a whiny sounding growl, looking up and succeeding at looking piteous. 

"No, I don't know how long. Until you get better. Be patient and eat, you bottomless pit." she said affectionately, rising from her crouch. 

"What happened to Data 7?" Lucas asked. 

Cybersix went to the sling, opened it up a bit, and pointed, "His tail got badly burned." she said, "Hopefully, the fur will grow back and he won't have a rat's tail." 

Data 7 whined again. 

"How did you-" Lucas started, 

"Get away?" She finished, easing herself into a chair and pointing at another one behind him. He sat down in it and watched as Cybersix pulled her right foot onto her knee and inspected the sole. Her toes were small and delicate, and he stared at toenails painted the same tint of coral red as her own lips, "Get that bottle for me?" she pointed to something behind him. 

He turned and saw a squeeze bottle. It smelled of medication as he handed it to her. She squirted a glob onto her palm and rubbed it into the sole of her foot. 

He waited quietly, and after a few minutes, she said, "After I left you, I joined Data 7 and he led me to the observatory outside of town. We got inside, where I fought a huge fixed idea that was twice the normal size if you can believe it. I was nearly beaten, but the unborn transmitted some form of energy to me." 

"Unborn?" 

"Creations of Von Richter's that were still growing in their tanks of sustenance. I don't know, but for some reason, they sided with me. I don't know how they did it, but I suddenly felt strong again, and whipped the fixed idea easily with a single blow. Then Von Richter came..." 

Lucas waited patiently as Cybersix switched to her other foot, knowing it must have been an awesome moment for her to meet her creator. 

"I threatened him-" she continued, reaching for the bottle. 

"Cybersix?" 

She looked at him. 

He held out his hand, "May I-?" 

She looked at him for a long moment, then tossed him the bottle and set her left foot onto his knee. He put an extra large glob of the creamy goo on his palm and rubbed it into her sole, gently rubbing it in with the sides of his thumbs, his hands engulfing the small limb, "Cybersix-" he started, "I-" 

"I threatened him, but he laughed it off. He then offered to cure me of my dependence on sustenance-" she continued, interrupting him, "but only if I joined him. We went into his lab, and that's when he told me it was a bomb and that it would explode, destroying the entire city. Only, when he switched on the monitoring screen, it wasn't in Meridiana, but climbing the hill. Seems that Jose betrayed him," Here, she smiled for the first time since he had come into the basement, "He made a last attempt to sway me, but I grabbed him and threatned him if he didn't stop it. He couldn't, so I told him to move it into the forest, where I hoped the trees and the mountainside would protect the city." 

"But it didn't go there. It was at the cape, between the observatory and the ocean." Lucas said. 

"Right, but I saw the targeting computer move the cursor into the mountain. Well, as the thing passed, it shook the observatory badly. That's when Von Richter took the opportunity to release the unborn, probably to keep me occupied while he escaped. There must have been fifteen, twenty of them." 

"How did you fight them off and get away?" Lucas asked. 

She stared off in the distance for a long moment, "I didn't have to fight. They joined me. They cornered Von Richter and surrounded him. One of them motioned for Data 7 and I to leave. We did, making a dash for the exit." 

"And got away before the explosion?" 

"Oh no." she smiled, "We barely got out the door and noticed it wasn't in the forest behind the mountain. I turned and leaped, only to run into Data 7, getting us both tangled in my cape. That's when it exploded." 

"Your cape protected you?" 

"Well, Dr. Zack's cape." she said, "Mine was messed up from an earlier fight, so he gave me one." 

Lucas looked at her and shook his head, "Your foot's burned, and so is Data 7's tail. That cape was more like woven cloth than leather. How could it have protected you?" 

She smiled, got up, and jerked her head. He followed her to a welding area. She picked her cape off the bench and handed it to him. He opened it up and looked it over: red velvet on the inside, black woven cloth on the outside. It was reasonably light, with weights along the bottom hem. 

His attention was jerked away when he heard hissing. He glanced up to see Cybersix holding a lighted torch, "Woah! WAIT!" Lucas gasped as she shoved the torch into the cape. 

But the cape didn't burst into flames. Lucas looked over the top and saw the fiery tounge hitting the cloth. It wasn't even glowing. 

Cybersix turned the torch off and carefully put it into its metal holding rack while Lucas felt at the material. 

"It's not even hot!" he gasped, "Even asbestos doesn't cool down this fast! So how-" 

"Dr. Zack calls it quantum wave cloth: it uses nanite technology to create some sort of quantum wave front that perfectly absorbs energy. Its the most efficient solar cell on the planet." 

"Where does the energy go?" 

She pulled the cape up and unsnapped a fold on the hem. She tugged at the cloth and uncovered a dark blue crystal that seemed to glow slightly through the gossamer-like copper net surrounding it, 

"Copper Sulfate crystal." Lucas said, recognizing it immediately. 

"But specially constructed by nanites to generate a different quantum wave front that enables it to store energy. Huge amounts of it." Cybersix said, stuffing the crystal back into the hem and snapping the hem back into place, "The glow comes from the energy it absorbed from the explosion." 

"So the explosion blew you away from it?" 

"Well, not exactly. The cape absorbed all the energy, so none got through to budge us." 

"So how did you excape that fireball? It was huge!" 

She smiled, "Remember what I said about the Unborn giving me strength and energy to beat that huge Fixed Idea?" 

"Yes." 

"I had plenty left over. Data 7 and I are normally equally matched, so I shouldn't have hit him when I jumped. But having all that extra energy enabled me to leap harder and farther. That's why I hit him, and even then our momentum was so great, we stayed barely ahead of the leading edge of the fireball. The only things that stuck out of the cape, and so weren't as well protected, were my boots and Data 7's tail," she made a face, "Von Richter sure gave me a good hot foot, for I couldn't get my boots off fast enough. Poor Data 7 can't shuck his tail, though. He's rather attached to it." 

"Yeah. So I noticed." Lucas observed, "So, you and Dr. Zack were discussing this cloth of his?" 

She folded her arms and looked at him severely, "What DID you think we were discussing?" 

"Look, I'm sorry. I- well, I-" 

"Were you jealous?" she asked him. 

"Yes! I mean No! I mean-I thought you. and he." 

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Lucas, he's over twice my age! Really!" 

"So, what did you discuss?" 

"His research on sustenance." 

"Sustenance? He's trying to make sustenance?" 

"Yes. He's going to use his cloth to absorb enery from the sun and make electricity to power the world and free us from fossil fuel pollution. That same energy will be used to charge sustenance so it can be used as a pollution free fuel for cars." 

He looked at her skeptically, so she just crooked her finger and led him to the V6 that had been running on two vials of sustenance for the last six weeks.   
--------------------   
"Well, we won!" Techno 1954 said to Krumens. 

"A pyrric victory for sure." Krumens said bitterly, "We've got a problem. A BIG problem." 

"I've told you how to solve it." 

"Too risky. Bringing in an outsider-" 

"You do nothing, and you know what WILL happen." 

Krumens sighed, "Okay, okay. We'll do it." 

Techno 1954 grabbed the phone and began dialing a phone number.   
---------------------   
"Look, I'm sorry!" Lucas protested as he followed Cybersix up the steps from the basement, "I just thought-" 

She whirled around and glared at him, two steps higher than he was, so they were eye to eye, "For MONEY? My god, Lucas! What sort of woman did you think I was?" 

"Well, I thought you lived on the streets and-" 

"I had that option, of course." she said, folding her arms, "As a child and as an adult. But I took the stupid way up and sweated blood and tears working my way through college and into a job!" 

"Cybersix-" he stared, but she just whirled and stomped the rest of the way into the kitchen. 

Lucas groaned and followed her, _"Meathead! How are you going to get yourself out of THIS one?"_

She was at the door of the kitchen that lead into the hallway. Lucas walked up to her, but she waved at him, so he kept silent and listened. 

"-get this straight," said Dr. Zacharias, apparently on the phone, "You tried to capture the sustenance generators, but in the firefight, Jose's Fixed Ideas blew some of the essential elements, leaving you with no way to make it. Von Richter left no notes around, so you can't fix the equipment, right?" Pause, "Um hmm. Well, may I remind you that Von Richter and his creations have been the bane of Meridiana's existence for the last year or so, if not before that? Why should I help you, when doing nothing will take care of the city's problems as all of your precious creations die of sustenance deprivation? The city is in ruins from that oversized nuclear bomb he sent! So, I don't give a da-" 

Apparently, Dr. Zack had been interrupted, for he stopped in mid sentence. Lucas couldn't hear the answer. He turned, and saw Cybersix deathly pale, her lovely mouth formed into a silent _"NOOO!"_ as she shook her head slowly. 

Dr. Zack sighed and put the phone back into the cradle. 

"You're not-" she started, rushing into the room. 

Dr. Zack looked at her sharply, "You heard?" 

"Don't trust them! Don't go!" she said, shaking her head. 

"Sorry, my dear Cybersix. My mind's made up." he said, heading to the stairs and his second floor bedroom. 

"What was that all about?" Lucas asked. 

But Cybersix was just staring at the staircase, hand over her mouth, shaking her head slowly in disbelief.   
--------------------   
"Dr. Anthony Zacharias?" 

Dr. Zack looked up from the table in the crowded McDonald's down the street from Meridiana High School. and noted the shaded skin around the black eyes that marked one of Von Richter's Technos. There was something different about them, though, "Yes, that's me." 

"I'm Techno 1954. It's a distinct honor for me to meet one of the world's leading Quantum theorists." 

"So, how did you know that-" 

"That you were trying to duplicate sustenance?" The techno chuckled, "Why, that article in last July's issue of _Annals_, where you derived the equations for sustenance's decay rate. Your value for its wavelength was within 30 anstroms of mine. Well, what's your decision?" 

"If I help reconstruct the sustenance generators, will I be allowed to go free?" 

"Sorry, but you'll have to negotiate with my boss about that." 

Dr. Zack felt two huge weights fall on his shoulders. He glanced to his left and right, and saw great hairy hands with slightly greenish skin on each shoulder, "Okay okay!" he said, getting up, "No need to ruin my favorite coat!" 

The foursome walked out of the fast food joint and into a long limosine. Dr. Zack sat next to Techno 1954, and across from a nattily dressed blonde man. 

"Good to meet you, Dr. Zacharias." Krumens said as the limo pulled away from the curb, "I'm glad you're willing to help us fix our little problem with the sustenance generators that Jose's army ruined for us." 

"Hmph! I've been working on charging that infernal stuff for months! It'll be a relief to find out how its done!" 

"Spoken like a true scientist." Krumens nodded approvingly.   



	19. Lion's Den

"What are you worried about?" Techno 1954 whispered to Krumens, who was nervously glancing to the back of the helicopter at their blindfolded passenger. 

"I just don't like the idea of bringing in an outsider." Krumens complained, "We're taking a big risk here." 

The techno chuckled, "Relax. We've circled for a couple of hours just to make sure he has no idea where he is or even which way is up. Besides, this outcrop of mountains is surrounded by a jungle full of hostile natives and wild animals. Look at him. He's an old man as well as an academic, not a young bushmaster who'd have a fighting chance to survive." 

"Still..." Krumens said doubtfully. 

"It's not as if we have any options." the techno pointed out, "He's our best chance to get the sustenance generator running again." 

Krumens nodded glumly at the stone cold logic. Even though Von Richter was drugged unconscious about 95% of the time and howling in pain the other 5%, Krumens still feared what the doctor would do if this outsider figured out how to make sustenance. Herr Doktor kept that secret so zealously, one should be worried about being even remotely suspected of having played a part in its discolsure. Better to be sent as a lackey of the clone than face the wrath of Von Richter! 

"What are you doing?" Krumens asked when the Techno unbuckled his seatbelt and got up. 

"I'm going to take the blindfold off." 

"Is that wise?" 

The Techno grinned, "When he sees the jungle surrounding the mountain plateau, he'll have second thoughts about leaving."   
-----------------------   
The stones under Dr. Zack's feet shook slightly in response to the thunderclap overhead. He looked up just in time to see long white sparks of captured lightning dance along the cables festooning the castle, "So, lightning provides the energy to charge sustenance?" he asked the Techno. 

"Yes. Other than some mountain ranges in Africa, this spot gets the most lightning strikes per year." 1954 replied, "It has to do with the humidity and wind patterns adjacent to mountains as tall as the Andes." 

"Do the towers contain batteries or capacitors?" 

The techno chuckled, "They ARE capacitors." 

"How big?" 

"Each one is about 3 farads." 

Dr. Zack whistled: A farad was such a huge unit of measure that the vast number of capacitors had to use "pico" or "micro" as prefixes of their ratings. 

The huge iron and wooden doors creaked as they were opened by the Fixed Idea guards. They entered the gloomy castle, which was cold, damp, musky, and a little bit eerie. Cables ran all over the place, up and down walls, around columns, and along the staircase, "You have several generators?" Dr. Zack asked, eyeing the cables as he stepped over them. 

"Only one is necessary. The Doctor uses electricity a lot in other experiments. Mostly DC from captured lightning. For the regular equipment we use several diesel generators." 

"And why a castle?" Dr. Zack asked, glancing up at the arched and carved cieling, 

"Because Herr Doktor likes castles." Krumens replied. 

Techno 1954 let it rest at that: Not only was it true, but who would believe a satellite photo analyst claiming to have found a castle in the middle of the Amazon? And any Mossad agent asking for plane tickets to Argentina to investigate a castle in the middle of the Amazon would be sent on a trip to a padded cell instead. 

"Would you like to rest and refresh yourself before looking at the equipment?" Krumens asked. 

"I'd like to take a quick look at it first and let it roll around in my mind while I attend to those things later." 

Krumens nodded, pleased that Dr. Zacharias was so eager to look at the equipment, "We'll have to ask that you be escorted at all times. For your own safety, of course!" Krumens smiled, "The Fixed Ideas might take you for an intruder and deal with you appropriately unless you have an escort." He turned, saw a Fixed Idea gawking at them openly, and snapped his fingers, "YOU!" 

The brute shook his head and came over, "Uhhh, me?" 

"Yes, you! Stay with Dr. Zacharias here! Make sure he touches only the sustenance generator!" 

The Fixed Idea frowned, apparently trying to wrap his mind around the concept of someone touching something that nobody but Von Richter was permitted to touch. 

"He's here to fix it." 

"Is fixed." The Fixed Idea replied, "Is not in pieces any more." 

"AAAARGH!" Krumens griped impatiently and waved his hand, "JUST WATCH HIM!"   
------------------   
Techno 1954 watched a bit nervously as Dr. Zack crawled all over the machine, opening panels to look inside, clucking his tounge knowingly at the electrodes, and nodding at the pump and piping arrangements. It was obvious to the Techno that Dr. Zack had spent many hours thinking about how to make such a machine as this, and had come up with a similar design. That was both good and bad: Good, because they had picked the right man to fix it, and bad because he might be trapped by the same preconceptions as they were and would be unable to see outside the box to discover the solution. 

"So, what happens when you turn it on?" Dr. Zack asked, getting on his back and scooting under the huge cylinder of metal decorated by pipes and cables. 

"It keeps vaporizing the liquid and blowing the relief valves." 

"Umm hmmm." Dr. Zack disappeared under the generator. The Fixed Idea began to shift nervously and bent down, trying to keep his eyes on the man. He began to walk up and down along the generator, trailing him like a cat stalking a mouse. 

Techno 1954 grudgingly nodded approval at the persistence of the Fixed Idea. He didn't know if this one was from Jose's group or had remained loyal. Didn't matter anyhow: Fixed Ideas followed blindly, and couldn't be blamed for not having enough smarts to know what side to take. This one, apparently, had a few more IQ points than the average, knew that there was no generator at Jose's Mansion, and so had gone with whoever was the more likely to create the stuff he needed to survive. 

Dr. Zack began to pull himself out from under the generator. The Fixed Idea grabbed the foot that came out, and pulled the doctor out and up. 

Techno 1954 snickered at the sight of the old man dangling upside down by one foot from the Fixed Idea's hand, "You can put him down now." 

"Duhhh." The Fixed Idea let go. 

"OW!" Dr. Zack yelped as he hit the stone floor. 

"Duhhh, Sorry." The Fixed Idea grabbed the doctor by the coat collar, lifted him up, and carefully put him on his feet. 

"S-okay." Dr. Zack said, rubbing his head and looking around, "Why is the generator located in an open corridor? I suppose a rocket or grenade flew in here and hit it, but shouldn't something this important be protected better?" he asked, noting the wooden scaffolding taking the place of stone in this section of the corridor. 

"Actually, several rockets landed here. Are you familiar with how carbon monoxide poisoning works?" 

"Yes. The molecule attaches to hemoglobin more tightly than carbon dioxide or oxygen, rendering the hemoglobin molecule useless. The person dies because his blood becomes unable to carry oxygen." 

"The base compounds that make up sustenance undergo a modified fusion process when they are heated enough to vaporize," the Techno explained, "The resultant chemical structure locks itself into the protein activation site normally used by sustenance. The activation site normally causes the sustenance molecule to discharge, distintegrating in the process and clearing the site for the next molecule. But if the sustenance molecule is not charged, it doesn't distintegrate." 

Dr. Zack grimaced, "Death by poisoning of the energy pathway." 

The techno nodded, "The first muscle to go is the heart and arteries, since they receive the poisons first. The generator is not inside for the same reason you don't run a car inside a closed garage. Being out in the open allows the poisonous vapors to escape." 

Dr. Zack went to one end of the generator, "Okay, the uncharged sustenance goes in here first, where it fills this pre-chamber, then goes through the grate. I see that the generator has segments. Does each segment have its own set of electrodes?" 

"Yes." 

"Okay," Dr. Zack continued. He held out his hands, spread his fingers, and slipped the fingers of one hand in between the fingers of the other hand, "The electrodes are shaped like hair combs, with the fingers of one comb in between the gaps of the other, almost interlocking, but not touching. I presume that is to increase the surface area across which the electric field crosses the sustenance flow?" 

"Yes." 

"How much do you produce?" 

"About 2 liters an hour." 

"Do you have the inside dimensions of the generator on a schematic?" 

"Right there." The techno pointed at a table covered with drawings. 

Dr. Zack went to it and looked through them, "Got a calculator? You took my Palm Pilot." 

The techno pulled a drawer open and withdrew a Texas Instruments calculator. Dr. Zack nodded approvingly and began punching in numbers. 

"You!" The techno ordered the Fixed Idea, "Go tell the kitchen to bring a dinner tray to the generator corridor, then return immediately!"   
---------   
"So how are we doing?" Krumens asked, walking in on the pair. 

"Well, I think Dr. Zacharias has a pretty good idea of how the generator SHOULD work." The Techno said. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong." Dr. Zack said, "First, the uncharged sustenance enters and goes through 20 stages, each with a pair of electrodes. A millicoulomb of electrons, at about 100 Kilovolts, is shot across the electrodes of each stage, the electrons flowing through the fluid, charging about 5% of the molecules in a disk shaped slug of fluid. The inflow of uncharged sustenance pushes the slug of slightly charged sustenance through to the next pair, where the same thing happens and charges another 5% of the molecules. The slug moves through the stages, being more and more successively charged, until after the 20th stage, its about 99% charged." 

"99.5%, to be exact" Krumens said, very impressed, "That's the basic idea, yes." 

Dr. Zack turned around, leaned back against the desk, and stared at the generator, "Are you sure you set the timing of the pulses correctly? The faster the sustenance goes through the generator, the faster the pulses must occur, you know, to keep up with the flow." 

Techno 1954 nodded, "We checked that, knowing that the timing has to be very precise. To within 0.1% of tolerance. It's all embodied in the parts list of the generator." 

"By the way, is this the refurbished original, or did you just assemble a new one from spare parts?" 

"It's entirely from spare parts. We've triple checked the dimensions of everything and everything is within specifications." 

Dr. Zack glanced at him, "I think we should take a look at the old one." 

The techno pointed, "It's a mess, but you're welcome to try figuring out what what's different about it. It's down at the end of the corridor, outside, under the tarp. Take him there," He ordered the Fixed Idea. 

"It's late, yet he still keeps going." Krumens said admiringly as he watched them walk toward the door that the Techno had indicated. 

"Almost like a techno." 1954 said half to himself, "When we're on the trail of something, we just don't let go, but keep at it." He started to walk after the pair. Krumens watched, then looked at the generator for a while before sighing and re-entering the castle.   
---------   
"This IS a mess." Dr. Zack commented as he carefully picked his way through the tangled metal, "No wonder you didn't bother to refurbish it." 

"We couldn't make heads or tails out of it at all. We went with the schematics." the techno said glumly, "We can't figure out what-Watch out, doctor!" 

Dr. Zack had been reaching for a small bore pipe. He glanced at the techno. 

"It was running when it got hit, so there's sustenance all over it. No problem for us, but you'll be severely burned from it." 

"Got any Saran Wrap?" 

The Techno blinked, then grinned, "Oh yes! That surprised the hell out of us! And we only thought metal, glass, and rock could hold it!" He turned to the Fixed Idea, "Go to the lab and bring two rolls of Saran Wrap!" 

The Fixed Idea blinked. 

"Two red boxes this long," the techno measured out a distance between his hands, "From the pile on the table in the corner, near the master's computer console!" 

The creation brightened, turned, and ran off. 

"Well, it was a good thing you didn't kill Quaren, or my master would have been very annoyed." The Techno continued, "She's the closest thing to a daughter he has." 

"She's got some pretty fragile hydraulics there." Dr. Zack observed, "One bad wound, and she's out." 

"I know. I didn't forsee that when I first suggested it." the techno replied, obviously still peeved and chagrined at himself. 

Dr. Zack sympathized with the techno, so he spared the creation any more embarassment by resuming his inspection of the wreckage. 

The Fixed Idea eventualy returned with the two cartons of Saran Wrap. The techno started pulling the stuff off of one roll, which Dr. Zack used to wrap his shoes, then his hands. He then started picking through the wreckage, lifting pieces of piping, cabling, and other burnt and blacked components to examine closely. 

After about a half hour, he stopped, dropped the half-centimeter diameter pipe he had been looking at, and unwrapped his hands. 

"Any luck?" The techno asked. 

"Hmmm. No." Dr. Zack glanced down at the pipe and stepped back from the tiny puddle of sustenance that had come out of the small pipe. He suddenly shot a look at the nearest end of the wrecked generator, then the other. 

"What?" The Techno asked. 

"Well,,. I'm- not sure." he said uncertainly, looking again, "I thought there might have been a last minute design deviation, but this is such a tangled mess-" he waved his hand dispiritedly at the pile. 

"You look tired." The techno observed, "How about sleeping on it and getting back on it in the morning?" 

"That's a good idea." the old man replied, suddenly looking exhausted. 

As they went back inside, Dr. Zack slowed down as they approached the generator and took a long look at it as he passed. He then shook his head, "Yes, I'd better sleep on it."   
---------   
"Well?" Krumens asked, yawning, "Did he figure anything out from the wreckage?" 

"No. Well, he's not sure. Probably tired." The Techno said, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. He only slept 10 hours every 80, and wasn't due to rest for another 30, "We'll let him sleep late tomorrow morning and get a fresh start. In the meantime, I'm going to recheck the discharge timing and the tolerances between the combs." 

"Where did you put him?" 

The creation grinned, "Third floor, middle room, north side." 

"Ah! The side of the castle overlooking the canyon! A nice view at mid-morning, with the large windows." Krumens said approvingly. 

"Only one door to the room." The techno added, "A Fixed Idea on one side, and a 100 meter drop straight to the bottom on the other!" 

"Breathtaking view." Krumens remarked absently, "I should sleep there myself some time."   
---------   
The loud wailing of a siren made Krumens jump. He bounced high off the mattress, rolled uncontrollably, and spilled onto the hard stone floor. Cursing and nursing the bump on his right knee, he struggled to his feet and hobbled out the door in his night clothes, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" he yelled at the Fixed Ideas. 

They shook their heads as they ran up the stairs to the third floor. Shaking inside, Krumens limped up after them. The Techno in charge of security, 117, was yelling orders. 

"What's the situation?" Krumens demanded. 

The Techno pointed at a pile of Fixed Idea sized clothes at the foot of the door, a faint green glow coming through the material, "The roving patrol comes by every thirty minutes. They just found this, pulled the alarm, and went to check the front entrance." 

Krumens went to the door, tried the handle, opened it, and went inside. The bed had been slept in, but there was no sign of Dr. Zacharias, "The bottom floor doors are rigged to alarm if even touched during the night, and there are no windows!" Krumens said authoritatively, "He must still be in the castle!" 

Techno 117 nodded in agreement: The castle was subject to occasional raids by the nearby jungle indians who resented the Master's iron rule over them, and so was buttoned up tight just before dusk. 

Another techno ran into the room, "We've checked the circuits, and they haven't been tampered with!" he reported to Krumens and his brother. 

117 nodded decisively, "Still in the Castle! Fan out! Organize a search! Go room by room, posting a guard outside the door once each room is searched and checks out clean. Start at the basement and move upwards! Let's go!" 

Techno 1954, who had just entered, hopped hastily out of the way as the room quickly emptied. He blinked, _"Why would he run now? Didn't he want to solve-"_

He then noticed a pile of papers on the writing desk. He scooped them up and started paging through them. 

He recognized, on the first few pages, the rather wild equations that the Doctor had published in the _"Journal of Applied Mathematics."_ The ones which never converged, but had an oscillatory limit, and thus were supposed to be mathematically inonexistent. Equations that had revitalized research in a long dormant branch of mathematics. A branch that now was the hottest area going, and the subject of over two dozen PhD theses at universities ranging from Stanford to Stalingrad. 

The techno shivered: Once it had been confirmed by the Master that Dr. Zacharias was allied with the rebel cyber, he had gathered and pored over every paper, research report, and transcript of everything Dr. Zacharias had said or wrote over the last two years. He felt he could even pinpoint the time period when the doctor had first met Cybersix. He had believed that the mathematics paper had been a curiosity unrelated to the man's theoretical physics papers, but he now realized the equations had been an important step on the road to sustenance. 

_"What kind of being ARE you Cybersix, to have friends such as this? What did you do to get this kind of loyalty from people you were created to replace?"_ The techno thought, trying to imagine what it was like to have a friend, or be the kind of person that could have a friend. 

His imagination failed him, so he continued paging through the sheets. They were covered with scribbled notes, conjectures, and counter arguments. On the second to last page, there was a hand drawn diagram that looked like the generator. 

Techno 1954 looked at the drawing closely, then turned and ran like hell out of the room. He bounded down the stairs, ran around to the door leading into the outside corridor, only to be stopped by a Fixed Idea guarding the door, "LET ME THROUGH!" He demanded. 

The fixed idea shook its big thick head, "No body go out. Orders!" 

"I NEED TO GET TO THE GENERATOR! NOW!" 

"Orders from second master." The Fixed Idea replied. 

The Techno groaned, went to a nearby chair, collapsed into it, and began looking at the equations, then at the sketch, shaking his head and muttering, "It's so obvious now! So obvious!"   
--------------   
"Well, no sign of him." Krumens sighed as he walked up to Techno 1954, who was working on the sustenance generator, "I can't believe that he got away. And we searched him for weapons when we first got him, and watched him carefully, so how did he smuggle a weapon into his room and succeed in killing that Fixed Idea?" 

"Can't trust a Fixed Idea to know what to look for." 1954 replied, tasting the stream of non-glowing sustenance coming out of the output spout of the generator with a finger. 

"Oh well, we sent out search parties, and one Fixed Idea has gone missing already. Don't know what got him, but whatever did can handle that old man. By the way, you're wasting an awful lot of that stuff." Krumens said irritatedly. 

"It's not charged. Ah! Now!" He ran back to the input side of the generator and twisted a knob, reducing the flow to a mere trickle. He then picked up some heavy gloves, put them on, grabbed one of many cables at the base of the generator, and plugged it into the first set of electrodes, They began to hear the characteristic banging of the sparks jumping through the fluid. He then plugged in the second set. Then the third. 

Krumens watched, a bit worried, "Aren't you going to put a gas mask on in case this doesn't work and the batch vaporises again?" he asked. 

The techno stopped. "I don't think he got away." he stated slowly, "I think he jumped out the window the moment he discovered that excape was impossible." 

"He couldn't possibly have survived the fall, so why would he do that?" Krumens gasped, "And what does that have to do with my question? You're the only techno familiar with this equipment and capable of reproducing it! I can't afford to lose you!" 

"Look, if he solved our problem, then he'd be a dead man, right?" 

"Well, yes..." Krumens admitted. 

"I suppose he wanted to be master of his own fate in the end, rather than face what you had in store for him." 

"But what does-" Krumens repeated. 

"I kinda sympathize with that. Look, I'm out of ideas." 1954 admitted, "If this doesn't work, then I, and every other creation, are dead, because Dr. Zacharias isn't around to try something different. I'd just as soon depart this life via sustenance vapor poisoning than the slow death of sustenance deprivation. Which happens to be the Master's favorite punishment, you know." 

Krumens nodded, frowning a little at the Techno's reasoning. A bit too independent... 

As Techno 1954 plugged the cables in, his mind ran over the message Dr. Zack had scribbled on the last page of that sheaf of notes he had left, _"Dear Techno. I am very certain this will work. I have no illusions, however, of my fate if it does, so I am taking matters into my own hands. Despite my prejudices, I found working with you very pleasant and challenging. If you ever choose to follow Cybersix on her adventure of independence, you will not lack for any friends, of which I hope to be one. Regards, Tony"_

"IT'S WORKING!" Krumens exclaimed when he saw the normally clear fluid dribbling out of the output spout start to glow a faint green. 

Encouraged, the Techno continued plugging in the cables. By the time the last cable was plugged in, the stream was glowing bright green. The techno swapped out the barrel, stuck his finger into the stream, and put it to his mouth. He nodded, "Yes. It's charged sustenance. He did it. He figured it out!" 

"Excellent! The Master's project is safe!" Krumens exulted. 

_"I knew he could do it,"_ Techno 1954 thought, hearing Krumens chambering a bullet into his handgun, _"Just as I knew you'd-"_   
_--------------_   
"Everything is all right!" Krumens told the Fixed Ideas, who had rushed in at the gunshot and finding him pouring a vial of sustenance into the slowly filling barrel, "Just fine! Now that the sustenance generator is working, put this area under normal security!" 

As the Fixed Ideas rushed to comply, Krumens picked up the sheaf of papers that Techno 1954 had been using, pulled out his lighter, and carfully set the papers aflame, _"I have no idea what you did, 1954, but frankly, I don't WANT to know."_ he thought, watching the papers blacken, twist, and fall apart, _"Herr Doktor wouldn't trust anyone else with this secret, and I want to keep it that way. He has ways of finding things out that I'd rather see used on someone else..."_

Krumens flicked the last bits of paper and ash away just as the flames got to his fingertips. He then headed for the infirmary: He was already late for the first of the three daily check-ups on Von Richter. Then he had to check the body that would soon hold the brilliant mind that he served. His relief at the the restoration of the generator was so great, he dismissed as inconsequential the puzzle of the grin that had appeared on the Techno's face an instant before he pulled the trigger.   



	20. First Step...

"Penny for your thoughts." 

Cybersix, disguised as Adrian Seidelman, turned away from the window and looked across the table at Lucas, "Looks like a big storm blowing in from the ocean." 

"Yeah. Bad as the one a while back when those cops were looking..." Lucas paused, then continued, "..pretty drenched. Got any plans for tonight?" 

Cybersix smiled as she took another sip from her coffee, preparing for the night ahead. "Yes. I want to check up on Julian, then stop by Dr. Zack's place and make sure thieves haven't broken into it. Then I've got to go shopping..." 

"Not too many stores open," Lucas remarked grimly, "It's getting harder to find exactly what you need." 

"Yes..." She nodded, putting her cup down and rising, "Gotta go Lucas. With luck, I'll catch you later tonight." 

"You're in a hurry. I'll take care of the bill." Lucas said, 

Alice, their usual waitress, came by and poured Lucas another cup of Decaf, "You've been picking up the tab for Adrian a lot recently, Lucas." she observed, "What's up? You usually gripe about that." 

"Well, you know he went missing for a while after that moving mountain plowed through here," Lucas said, pulling out his wallet, "I suppose the thought of him not being around any more made me think things through and appreciate things more. But what are you worried about? The bill's getting paid." He tossed some money on the table, grabbed a long sip from his cup, got up, pulled on his coat, and went out, "See ya later." 

"Yeah," Alice muttered as she picked up the money, "but Adrian's the better tipper."   
--------------------   
"Data 7!" Cybersix turned when she saw the image of her brother coming through the window in the mirror, "How are you this fine night?" she asked, kneeling and putting her arms around the thick neck. 

Data 7 affectionately licked her face several times, his rough tounge warm and wet against her skin. She laughed softly, "Now, let's take a look at that rat's tail of yours!" she said, getting up. 

Data 7 growled irritatedly. 

"Well, it DOES look like a rats tail! Unlike Quaren, though, *I* don't think that MAKES you a rat!" she said, suppressing a michevious grin. She went behind him and ran the long tail through her hands, "You're growing some hair back, so that's good! Ready to go shopping?" she asked, using the "code word" for hunting Fixed Ideas that Lucas had come up with to discuss the nightly hunt while she was dressed as Adrian. 

Data 7 paced toward the window, glanced back at her over her shoulder, then leaped out the window onto the roof across the street. Cybersix pulled her cape on, jammed her hat on her head, and stepped out onto the window sill. 

_"What will this night bring?"_ She thought. _"So much has happened! The Isle of Doom. Dr. Zack leaving. Meeting the two Cybers that Mel had spoken about. And Quaren. Hard to believe that Dr. Zack's would-be assassin- er kidnapper-"_ she corrected herself, smiling at Quaren's fanatical insistence on the correct term, _"-used to be Cyber Seven."_

Cybersix sighed. She wanted so much for the gentle, beautiful soul of the little cyber girl-child who had slept in the cot next to her so many years ago to be somewhere in that blonde-headed, foul mouthed, violent creature that Von Richter had created, _"Just as well. No telling what I would have done if I knew then, when I confronted him, what I know now."_

Data 7's roar from the opposite rooftop snapped her out of her reverie. She leaped across to the opposite roof and began running, sensing Data 7 at her side. 

"Let's go find Julian before the storm comes." She said.   
-----------------   
After about a half hour of looking, Cybersix found Julian standing under an awning at the marketplace. 

"Cybersix! Data 7!" Julian said excitedly when he heard them landing next to him. 

"Hello Julian!" she greeted him, "Storm's coming, and I wanted to make sure you were okay." 

"Why shouldn't I, with all my buddies here?" Julian said, turning to the shadows, "Right Officer Henrique?" 

"Well, hello officer!" Cybersix was surprised to see the huge bulk of the plain-clothes detective emerge from the shadows. 

"Good evening Cybersix!" Henrique nodded, "Glad to know someone else shares my concerns for Julian here." The detective leaned down and ran his hand through Julian's mop of hair, for the boy had knelt to hug Data 7. 

Cybersix smiled happily at the sight. She caught herself wondering how Lucas got along with little children. 

"Oh, and what a coincidence!" Henrique remarked, "I got a phone call from Dinazo. Remember him?" 

She looked startled, "He's Miguel Cornazon's head of security, isn't he?" 

"He is. He called police headquarters several days ago from what sounded like a sattellite phone. He's the coordinator for the jungle resistance forces that are manned from the tribes near Von Richter's hideouts. A while back there seemed to be some military action near, get this, a CASTLE on a mountain range outcropping in the Amazon!" 

The shadows created by the wide brim of her hat prevented Henrique from seeing the sober look that appeared on the woman's face, "Yes. I heard of that." 

"Looking for an opportunity to strike, he went out there himself to coordinate the attack. While his scouts were performing reconnaissance, they came across one very odd and surprising pair of individuals thrashing around in the jungle. He didn't mention who they were, but said that he was expediting their return to Meridiana as quickly as possible, and insisted that 'our lovely associate' be notified. Do you have any-" 

But Cybersix was already gone. 

"Woah. She is FAST." Henrique remarked, "Any idea of who he was talking about, Julian?" 

"I don't, but Data 7 knows, Don'tcha?" Julian asked the panther, who looked torn between going with this sister and staying with Julian during the upcoming storm, "I'll follow you! Coming along, Henrique?" 

"Nah. Got a meeting with a stoolie in a half hour. Fill me in when I catch you next time?" 

"No problem! See ya!" Julian ran off after Data 7.   
----------------------   
Cybersix's heart soared when she saw the lights on in the second story of the townhouse at the corner next to the park. She leaped around to the side near the library and onto the top of the wall, only to hop down onto the yard to join the two individuals arguing there. 

**"Honestly, Doctor. A PhD in physics, and you can't get a kite into the air?"**

"I USED to do all kinds of stunts with kites, but those were Maylays and this is a Box kite." 

"MEL! Dr. ZACK!" Cybersix called, dropping onto her knees between the two, putting an arm around each one, and hugging both of them to herself, "You're okay! You're alive!" 

"Cybersix!" Dr. Zack said in mock alarm, "Is Lucas near by?" 

Mel scratched his head at the private joke about which the two laughed, "Oh, I was just giving him a hard time." Cybersix replied, "I admit, I'm still smarting over the way he acted around Elaine, so I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine." 

"So what happened?" 

"He finally admitted that he was jealous. It was hard, but he admitted it." 

**"Have you been jealous?"** Mel asked her. 

She looked up at him with a lopsided smile, "Yes. I think it's what we feel when we hide the intensity of the love we feel for someone, and then find out we're losing that person to someone who we think loves them less than we do. But enough of me!" she rubbed Mel's huge shoulder, "What happened to you?" 

**"Well, you know that Dr. Zack dumped me off the Isle of Doom using that dimensional hole trick of his. I got stuck in the muck, but one of the tentacles hit the bottom and stirred it up, releasing me. I followed the Isle through the city and up the hillside. I heard a cry for help, which turned out to be Jose,"** Mel rolled his eyes while Cybersix laughed at his discomfort, **"NEVER be the only Fixed Idea in Jose's presence! You can't imagine what he made me do until more arrived!"**

"You were with Jose?" Cybersix asked, amazed. 

**"Yes. There seems to be a power struggle going on in Von Richter's operation. Jose claims he was put in charge by Von Richter, and has a tape recording to prove it, but I overheard him creating it. However, that got enough Technos and Fixed Ideas on his side that he decided to attack the Amazon Castle, where sustenance is made."**

Cybersix nodded, "During which the sustenance generator was damaged." 

**"Actually,"** Mel admitted, **"*I* did that. Easy to fake in the heat of battle, and since one Fixed Idea looks like another, I was able to shift the blame to someone else."**

"Mel!" Cybersix and Dr. Zack said almost simultaneously, in shock. 

"There you are!" Julian yelled as he rode Data 7 over the wall, "Oh no! A fixed idea! Get him Data 7!" 

"Easy Julian!" Cybersix stepped between them, "This is a friend of mine! He saved my life when I was your age! Julian, this is Mel, or Fixed Idea Four. Mel, this is my friend, Julian. I've spoken to you before about him." 

"Uhh, hi." Julian said uncertainly. 

**"Pleased to meet you."** Mel said politely. 

Julian blinked. Mel grinned, pleased with the effect his voice had on people. 

"JULIAN!" Dr. Zack said enthusiastically, "Could you possibly do me and Cybersix a favor by getting this blasted kite into the air?" 

"Sure!" Julian looked at it, and shook his head, "Boy, you guys don't know how to string a bowline!" 

**"Kinda reminds me of you poking around the generator."** Mel remarked amiably to Dr. Zack. 

"YOU WERE THERE??" Cybersix gasped, "But how..." 

**"Like I said, One Fixed Idea looks like another. Besides, we're supposed to be so dumb, it's understandable if we don't know which side to be on."** Mel said, grinning, **"Easy enough to switch sides and make sure I got the generator. I was kinda worried when I saw Techno 1954 working on it."**

"Hey!" Julian lifted a spool, "This isn't kite string! This is copper wire!" 

"I know, Julian. Just do your best." Dr. Zack replied. 

"Oh, it's soft enough, and the wind will be strong enough to lift it, but not far. But it's dangerous, Dr. Zack. Especially now with a thunder storm coming!" 

"I know. I NEED this kite up DURING the thunderstorm!" Dr. Zack said, "Cybersix needs it up!" 

"I do?" Cybersix asked, frowning, "I know you conduct wild experiments, Dr. Zack, but didn't a yanqui already do this a long while ago?" 

"Benjamin Franklin, yes. However, I have a different set up this time, with a different outcome in mind." 

Cybersix looked doubtful, but turned back to Mel, "I know Dr. Zack went to fix it. I take it the techno didn't succeed?" 

**"Oh, there were schematics, all right, and replacement parts." **Mel said, **"But he was so panicked to get the machine producing sustenance again that it didn't occur to him that Von Richter wouldn't put such an important secret into the schematics. It's a large device, so I figure Von Richter only put the heavy stuff on the drawings. I bet, after the heavy lifting, bolting, and welding was done, that he'd then sneak by later and add whatever the secret ingredient or component by himself. It's probably something small and unnoticeable, and which he could lift or attach himself with little trouble. I started to really worry when Dr. Zack arrived. His life wouldn't be threatened if the machine couldn't be made to work again, so he could look at the problem in a more detached and objective state of mind."**

"Did you succeed?" Cybersix asked Dr. Zack. 

"I don't know." Dr. Zack admitted, "I didn't want to stick around to make sure, since if I discovered the secret, I certainly would not have been allowed to leave that castle alive. However, I wrote down what I suspected, based on looking at the wreckage of the old one and comparing it with the schematics." 

"WAS there a difference between them?" Cybersix asked. 

"Indeed there was." Dr. zack said smugly, "Barely noticeable." 

"What was it?" 

"A return line, going from the output header back the whole length of the generator to the input header. I found a small bore pipe full of charged sustenance, which could have been the output spout, but that that was already accounted for. Besides, the pipe was too long. There were tack welds in spots along its length. That told me that it had been formerly attached to the generator. The schematics also use similar tubing, but they are filled with circulating water and used as a cooling jacket. In the wreckage, one tube filled with charged sustenance, among hundreds filled with water, would be easily overlooked. I almost missed it myself." 

"Here we are!" Julian said, lifting the kite for them to see. 

Dr. Zack pulled on some rubber gloves, "Could you help me get it into the air, Julian?" he asked. 

"Sure!" 

"So, Mel." Cybersix asked as they watched the pair launch the kite into the air, "How do you fit in?" 

Mel smiled, **"As luck would have it, I was appointed Dr. Zack's guard. It was easy to sneak in between the roving patrol passes, talk with Dr. Zack, find out that you were alive, and plan an escape. When the roving patrol came by, I killed him, took his place, and walked Dr. Zack down to the cloak room. I then sounded the alarm and said I'd test the front door."**

"Which is?" Cybersix asked. 

Mel's smile showed white, even teeth, **"You have to OPEN THE DOOR and cause an alarm to know that it's working. Since they know a Fixed Idea is opening the door, they know it's a test. I opened the door, and sure enough, the alarm went off. Too bad the alarm doesn't really detect when somebody is walking THROUGH the door while it's open. They searched the whole place twice over, so sure were they that the Doctor was still in the castle, while in actuality he was waiting down the jungle trail for me. When they finally decided to send out search parties, I knew where he was and insisted on going in that direction. We joined up and headed out across the jungle. I had a machine gun, so there wasn't much danger from the wild animals."**

"What happened after that?" 

**"Have you heard of Miguel Cornazon?"**

"Sure I know him! After all, I saved his life when he came to Meridiana. He's been trying to raise the alarm about Von Richter for years." 

Mel nodded, **"The natives in the surrounding jungle were among the first to join the military campaign, after the ones in the Amazon. One of his trusted aides, Dinazo, came out a couple of days earlier to see if the confusion at the castle could be exploited. He sent out scouts, who found us and hauled us in for questioning. That was the scariest part of the whole thing, since I was a Fixed Idea and Fixed Ideas are Von Richter's shock troops. Imagine my surprise when Dinazo walks in to interrogate us, sees Dr. Zack, and gives him a bear hug!"**

Cybersix nodded, smiling, "Its a secret, but after Cornazon's hotel room got shot up by Jose's stolen figher jet cannon, he spent the night here at the Townhouse. With all defenses on, of course." 

**"Cybersix,"** Mel asked, **"Do you know what makes that man so nervous that he lives in a fortress like this? I've sneaked looks at intercepted military reports that call it the Fort Knox of South America!"**

She looked grim, "I think so, but it's private. I'm sure he'll tell you if you-" 

"Okay, I think it's high enough!" Dr. Zack said, "Could either of you bring me that big tube over there?" 

Cybersix picked it up and looked at it as she took it to Dr. Zack. It was heavy steel on the outside, with an eyehook on one end and a long spike on the other. However, the end plugs were heavy rubber. She gave it to Dr. Zack, who wound the kite string around the eyehook and shoved the other end into the ground, "Could you push that in deeper, Cybersix?" 

She did so easily, then backed away, "What now?" 

"We wait for lightning to hit the kite." Dr. Zack turned to Mel, "Mel, YOU destroyed the sustenance generator?" 

Mel nodded grimly, then grinned stupidly, "Shoot over roof. Hit technos inside." he said like any other Fixed Idea, **"Always trust a Fixed Idea to take the opportunity to try to 'stick it' to a smartass Techno. I shot a rocket over the roof into the courtyard, and the others followed suit."**

Dr. Zack nodded, "The tolerances were tight. I think an explosion knocked the combs out of alignment and caused sparking. That would ionize some of the charged sustenance inside, releasing its energy and causing an internal explosion." 

"But Mel, why? Why destroy a machine you and I need to survive?" Cybersix asked. 

Mel looked at her, smiling sadly, "Everyone thought you were dead. I did too." he shrugged, "I was very sad, depressed, and angry. When I saw Jose and Krumens squabbling over who would control Von Richter's creations, and without you around to stop them..." He reached out and put this hand along the side of her head. Her cheek rested in the huge palm, and the long, huge fingers reached around the back of her head and neck. 

She reached up and put her hand on the back of his, running her fingers over the hairy skin and strong tendons, "Oh Mel.." she sighed softly, smiling sadly, "It would have been a terrible and slow way to die." 

**"Better than living without feeling you in the world."** Mel replied, leaning forward and tenderly kissing her forehead. 

Any other Fixed Idea would have jerked her head hard enough to snap it off her neck in an instant, but the utter trust between the Cyber and this Fixed Idea made him glad he had gotten Mel out of the Isle of Doom. There was a loud clap of thunder, and a few fat drops began to fall around them, "Let's get inside and have a snack and something to drink!" he suggested. 

Mel dropped his hand, **"That sounds great, Dr. Zack!"**

"Yeah!" Julian agreed. 

They all trooped inside, and Dr. Zack began to make some Decaf. He had just gotten it started when there was another loud clap of thunder outside and the lights went out for about 10 seconds before coming back on. 

Cybersix got up and looked out the window, "The power is out on the whole block! You have backup generators?" 

Dr. Zack nodded, "Hear them starting up? I use quantum batteries to bridge the gap." 

"It's a bad storm!" Julian said, fishing his second candy bar out of the jar on the table, "Glad I'm in here!" 

Suddenly, there was another thunderclap, followed almost immediately by a loud explosion outside. The sound of gravel flying against the windows made Mel get up and go into the living room, **"There's a big hole in the yard!"** he called. 

"Uh oh!" Dr. Zack groaned, "I hope my container held up!" 

**"Let me look for it."** Mel volunteered, going outside. 

"You probably lost the kite." Julian mumbled around the wad of chocolate in his mouth. 

"Certainly. I just hope..." Dr. Zack sighed. 

"What ARE you trying to do?" Cybersix asked. 

"I'd just as soon wait-" He started, then jerked his head when Mel came back inside, holding the tube. The eyehook on one end was half-melted off, and it was considerably blacker on the outside, but it looked intact, "Great! It's still in one piece!" he exulted as Mel handed it to him. 

They all watched him as he put his hand on the eyehook end. He hesitated. 

"What's wrong?" Cybersix asked. 

"I hope this worked." he said, twisting the end of the container. It took a while to get it off, for there was about 2 centimeters of thread on it. He put the end on the table, inhaled, held his palm out under the container, and tipped it up, shaking it to coax out whatever was inside. Cybersix held her breath, and it looked as if Mel was also. 

The stainless stell end of what looked like a vial, only seven or eight times bigger, slid out, followed by a solid green glowing shaft. The light bathed everyone's faces as the giant vial slid into his hand. Data 7's perked up, and he gave a deep and approving "Mrrrr!" 

Dr. Zack began to nod, "Yes. I think so..." He held it up and stared at it for twenty seconds, "Looks right too! But..." 

**"Only one way to find out." **Mel said, **"I'll do it."** he volunteered. 

Dr. Zack carefully unscrewed one end of the oversized vial and held the end out to Mel, who dipped his huge forefinger into it. He rubbed it between his fingers, "Feels like it." He licked it off his finger, and then frowned. 

"What is it?" Dr. Zack asked. 

Mel looked at Cybersix, and jerked his head at it with a strange look in his eyes. She put her finger into it and took a taste too, "Umm, it's charged all right. There's the tingle on the tounge..." she said, looking at Mel. 

**"Umm hmm, "** Mel agreed, looking sheepish, **"but.."**

"But what?" Dr. Zack frowned. 

"Let ME try it!" Julian poked a finger toward the tube, only to have both Mel and Cybersix yell, "NO!" at the same time. Cybersix batted his hand away. 

**"It, uhhh..."** Mel stammered. 

"WHAT?" 

**"..tastes..."** he looked at Cybersix. 

"..funny?" Cybersix supplied, "Strange. A bit, umm..." 

**"..Oily? Spicy? Sour?"**

"Umm." she shook her head, "Can't quite describe it." 

Dr. Zack sighed, "I'm sure I don't have Von Richter's actual suppliers of the base ingredients, so the taste must be due to impurities. Or perhaps his suppliers have impurities that change the taste of it." 

"Well, it's safe. But there really is only one way to find out if it works." Cybersix took an empty ceramic coffee mug and held it out. 

Smiling hesitantly, Dr. Zack carefully fiilled it half-way with the glowing green liquid. Cybersix sipped it, then began to drink it, closing her eyes and holding the mug with both hands. She suddenly brought it down and began to pant a little, eyes closed. 

"Are you okay?" Dr. Zack asked anxiously. 

She smiled broadly, eyes still closed, "I can feel it! Like drinking two vials at once! There's a glowing charge that starts in the belly and spreads out slowly through the body. Then my mind starts thinking faster, as if its a clock that ticks louder and faster." She opened her eyes and smiled at him, "You did it! It sure doesn't taste quite the same, but it's sustenance!" she turned and held the mug to Mel. 

Mel shook his head, **"Jose still has plenty, so I'll mooch off of him and pass you the odd vial. And I think there'll be a lot more sustenance now, won't there, Doctor?"**

Dr. Zack nodded, "Since I succeeded, then the techno should have gotten the generator working again." 

**"Well then, congratulations are in order, Doctor!"** Mel held out his hand, and Dr. Zack tried to shake it. 

"So," Cybersix asked, cradling the mug in her hands, "what IS the secret of making sustenance?" 

Dr. Zack grinned, "Sustenance." 

"What?" 

"That stuff didn't start out as totally uncharged sustenance. I poured in a couple of vials that gave it a 10% concentration. The existence of the sustenance in solution creates an electrical/quantum field that transfers the energy of the electron flow into the uncharged sustenance molecules, charging them. Sort of like a catalyst or primer. The feedback tube coming out of the output end of the generator fed charged sustenance back to the inlet end, mixing with the uncharged sustenance and priming it to be charged." 

**"But..."** Mel said, **"If you need sustenance to create sustenance, then where did the first sustenance come from?"**

"I don't know." Dr. Zack shrugged, "Perhaps an accident. Perhaps Von Richter used his talent to laborously charge the first several thousand sustenance molecules, then proceeded from there. We'll probably never know, for that's one secret that certainly died with him." He thought a moment, "The most likely equations that describe sustenance are strangely cyclic, demonstrating very unusual mathematical behavior. The need to prime sustenance suggests that I use a different class of input values, and maybe use some different operators. It is also possible that sustenance lies on the borderline between the living and the non-living, and those equations, or some modification of them, may become the foundation of a true bio-mathematics. A mathematics that can describe the process of life itself." 

"Well, I'm glad I didn't kiss you on the cheek in celebration, Doctor." Cybersix said sheepishly, holding up a napkin that she had just used to wipe her lips, and which was smoking, "You'll get it later." 

"Away from Lucas, I hope." Dr. Zack carefully screwed the cap back onto the huge vial, "I'll have to construct more of these, as well as figure out a better way to capture the lightning. That'll have to do until I figure out how to charge it from house current or from quantum batteries. That'll take a while, but this will do in a pinch." 

"I guess I'll feel good when a lightning storm comes." Julian said, "Knowing it'll be used to make the stuff my friend needs." 

"I'll certainly be looking forward to them too!" Cybersix agreed. She finished the cup of sustenance, "Tastes wierd, but it definitely hits the spot. I won't have to hunt tonight. However..." 

"What?" 

"Could Julian stay here tonight? He'll get soaked." 

"Rowwwr!" Data 7 rumbled. 

Cybersix laughed and caressed the panther's head, "And Data 7 too?" 

"Sure! He can use the guestroom. And I'll let him play some computer games before he goes to bed." 

**"I've got to go too. With fewer FIs around, the absence of one is more noticeable. Again, my Congratulations, Doctor!"** Mel said, getting up. 

Dr. Zack let them out. As they stood under the eave, ready to leave, Mel turned around to look at the townhouse, "**Though wise men at their end know dark is right,**   
**Because their words had forked no lightning they**   
**Do not go gentle into that good night."** Cybersix looked at him, "Why Mel! Dylan Thomas?" 

He smiled lopsidedly, **"Sharpens the mind. Be careful Cybersix, and have a good night!"** he turned and leaped up onto the wall, then onto the building beyond. 

She smiled, _"Oh, I intend to..."_   
------   
"Cybersix!" Lucas exclaimed, turning from the papers he was grading to the dripping woman who stepped in through his window. 

"Oh dear. I'm making a mess on your floor." she said regretfully. 

He quickly got a couple of towels, gave one to her and put the other on the floor. The cape and hat went on a chair near the radiator, "What's that?" he asked, glancing at the brown envelope she had kept dry under her arm. 

She lifted it and smiled, "Since school's starting back up tomorrow, I decided to finally get around to grading the homework. Got an extra red pen I can use?" 

"Yeah. Was it a good night?" he asked as he went into the kitchen. 

"Yes," she said, nodding, "A very good night." 

He brought out a chair from the kitchen and put it so she could sit across from him at his desk. She slipped into it, crossed her legs, and started to grade as he sat down. Occasionally, he would glance up to sneak a look at her, and got caught looking twice. 

"Ohhhh!" she exclaimed. 

"What?" Lucas looked up at her. She had just shuffled a paper to the bottom of the pile. 

Wryly, she picked up the top sheet by a corner and twisted it around so he could see the red hearts and arrows drawn on the paper around the poem. The title was "My Favorite Teacher By Lori Anderson." 

"Hmm. Better keep that for blackmail." Lucas observed. 

She started to chuckle. Then Lucas joined in.   
------   
Data 7 stretched and rolled on the floor of Dr. Zack's library, obviously delighted with the fire burning in the hearth and the satisfying bulge in his middle. He perked up as Dr. Zack lit his pipe. A bright green glow emanated from the tobacco box at his elbow. 

Dr. Zack glanced up at the gentle "Mrrr?" that rumbled from the big cat, then followed the glowing yellow eyes to the box, "If something happens to me, there are four here, and another twenty vials I refilled in the safe downstairs." he said in reply, "About 250 CCs, which isn't much," he conceded, "But it's a start, because we made it ourselves. The upward path to the door that opens into space is going to be a long one, but tonight, we took the first step..." 

Conclusion of Part 1 -------   
Quaren and the two Cybers (c) Anay 

'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night', Dylan Thomas, 1914-1953   
-------   
Author's note: I want to thank you, the patient reader, for bearing with this longish tale. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I want to thank Goddess/Sita and FreakOTU/Freak of the Universe for thinking highly enough of my fancharacter to include him in their stories, as well as to Nightflower for giving Dr. Zack a cameo in her excellent story of Cyber 338. And again, I want to thank Anay for her contribution to the story with the delightful chapter that featured her singular fan character, Quaren. 

And, of course, my many thanks to Carlos Meglia and Carlos Trillo for the creation of Cybersix and her world. 

And yes, there will be a part 2. However, my current plans are to finish "Gone" and the Light branch of "Paradise Falling" first. In addition, I am planning to start an anthology of tales based on the Dark Branch of "Paradise Falling". And perhaps the odd tale or two inspired by someone's words or story or story suggestion. 

It looks like the Sixth Cyber will be holding my facination and imagination in her thrall for a long long time...   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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